mmm-yoso – Page 190

Vancouver – Granville Island Public Market

June 23, 2017 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Canada, Markets & Grocers, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

In spite of having done quite a bit the day before; I awoke refreshed and ready to go. The Missus needed a bit of a caffeine boost. I'd noticed a Caffé Artigiano location the previous day, so I decided to head out and grab us some coffee.

I noticed this food cart along the way. It says Traditional Thai Cuisine right above the window……though I noticed the place served the very traditional "Gluten Free Very Popular Thai Noodle Style Dish"…… Hmmm….. "noodle style?" As in when is a noodle, not a noodle? I just had to crack up. Celiac disease is no joke, but I still had to laugh. One of the guys that used to work for me has Celiac disease….really great guy…..I used to tell him; "you'll know when you mess up. There'll be bread pudding on your desk." His response? "It's better than waking up with a horse head in my bed."

Caffé Artigiano is right on Hornby Street.

A cup of Organic for the Missus, an Americano for your truly.

Nice folks, fast service.

Caffè Artigiano
763 Hornby St
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1S2, Canada

Good thing I got some caffeine in my system. You see, after Her cup, the Missus was ready to go….not sure what kind of jet fuel they put into the organic coffee there.

And of course, the Missus decided that we should walk to Granville Island. Thankfully, even though it was bright and sunny, the temps were still reasonable.

As in not taking the Aquabus. So we had to actually cross over False Creek on the Granville Bridge, come around and figure out which street went to Granville Island. Which actually wasn't too hard.

From there, it's a short stroll to the Public Market.

We had decided to put together a nice early lunch before deciding what to do next. So we did a quick walk around the market.

We put together a plan while walking around the place. The Missus would head off and pick up some gifts for folks back home and then go and pick up some chocolates from chocolaTas. We then decided on a meeting spot….based on what we'd seen during our "walk-through" we knew just the place.

I'd pick up most everything for lunch. First starting with some roast lamb from L'Epicerie.

From there it was quite easy.

Basically, cheese curds from Benton Brothers, Salmon "Candy" from Longliner Foods, bread from Terra, and we'd meet up at Oyama Sausage….where we saw some wonderful looking pate and charcuterie.

At Oyama sausage we were met with a wonderful variety and it was quite hard choosing what we wanted. But since we had one shot we made our decision…..sadly, we decided not to get any cheese.

And, since we had dinner reservations, we'd be doing no cooking……so no sausage.

We stepped outside looking for a table.

It was slightly overcast when we stepped out of the market.

But, as soon as we found an open table, the sun came out!

And we spread out our bounty….that salmon candy was very nice, sweet-smoky-slightly briny, just as expected. The cheese curds were very fresh.

We didn't care for the lamb; very tough, and not seasoned particularly well.

The tongue was sliced to a perfect thinness and wasn't too salty….full of beefy goodness! Really good.

Only to be topped by the Duck Pate with Black Truffles.

Great creamy texture, just enough earthy-pungent truffle flavor with nice rich mildly offally flavor. Decadent, this was so very good.

We saved the remainder of the pate, salmon, and bread for snacking and headed off.

This time the Missus decided that it might be a good idea to catch the Aquabus across False Creek to the Hornby Dock.

Which was a very quick trip.

As we watched the Aquabus leave the dock. The Missus looked up at the bright sky and said, "hey…..I have an idea!"

Oh-oh…..stay tuned!

Nagoya – Nagoya Castle and Lunch at Yabaton

June 22, 2017 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Nagoya, Travel

After crossing the Gojo Bridge we walked past the Nagoya Noh Theatre….where the Missus was smitten with this Cherry Blossom tree.

I had gotten a good dose of the Missus's love….obsession with sakura a bit earlier on the trip so I just ket Her carry on; while I took a look around.

That's a statue of Daimyo Kato Kiyomasa who was known as the premier castle builder of his day. Under orders of Ieyasu Tokugawa, several Daimyo's including Kiyomasa were tasked with rebuilding Nagoya castle which had been abandoned.

Once the Missus was done taking Her photos and admiring the sakura, we headed across the street to the entrance of Nagoya Castle.

We paid our entrance fee and stopped by the tourist office where the very friendly young lady pointed out several places of note.

Apparently, there was some kind of festival going on………not quite sure what it was about, but seeing folks in….ummm….costumes kept us smiling.

And some browsing time as well…..

All in the shadow of the Castle's Turrets.

Here's another statue of Kato Kiyomasa. Apparently, it was from this stone that he would command the building of the castle.

We headed to the other end of the castle grounds, to the East Garden.

Where we found a Tea House and decided to take a break. The Missus loves Macha….if you only knew how much She spends ordering stuff from Ippodo, Lupicia, and other places….

The Missus wanted some extra "bling" in Her tea…..

We walked back to the area of Hommaru Palace, part of which is being restored. We could actually enter and view the restoration taking place and were provided hard hats…..which made for a couple of silly hard hat photos (of course).

It was really neat to be able to check out all the elaborate construction being done.

Genkan, the entrance hall and Omote Shoin, the main hall have been restored and are open to the public. We got a chance to see the wonderful wall and partition paintings.

We had, of course, saved the Main Donjon (Tower) for last.

On the way there we passed the "Kiyomasa Stone", the largest stone in the wall said to have been put there by Kato Kiyomasa himself; though it is said that Kuroda Nagamasa was actually in charge of building this part of the wall.

We loved watching the kids take photos with the "Samurai"….in fact, we ended up taking photos with him as well (ssshhh, don't tell).

There was an interesting reproduction of the castle town along with what some of the meals looked like.

There's a replica of the Golden Kinshachi, two of which adorn the roof of the Dojon, and are symbols of Nagoya.

And a nice view from the 7th Floor as well.

After this we decided to head on out……there was some shopping that we needed to do.

But first, we just had to stop and watch the children's dance performances.

The littlest one's were really adorable.

Done with Nagoya Castle; we headed down Honmachi Dori and somehow managed to find the Nadya Park Shopping Complex. We went to the Montbell Store and bought some ultra-light Plasma 1000 down jackets.

That done, it was getting kinda late, so we headed back toward Nagoya Station. We decided to take our chances at the Yabaton in the underground ESCA shopping center. Indeed, there was a line when we arrived….but, things moved quickly and they actually took your order while you waited in line.

So by the time we got to our table; things were just about waiting for us.

Misokatsu is one of the classic Nagoya food items….ask Taka-san at Taisho about it and he practically smacks his lips. Yabaton is probably the most well known chain of misokatsu restuarants.

I went with what Taka-san told me to order; the Teppan Misokatsu.

I shared my rice with the Missus. The miso soup was really good as well. In the teppan version of misokatsu; the tonkatsu is delivered on a hot plate lying on a bed of cabbage sizzling away. The miso sauce is then brought to the table and you can tell them how much you want.

The miso isn't overly salty; nice beany flavor, the breading on the cutlet is nice and stays crisp for a while. The pork is surprisingly tender….but man, this was a lot of pork.

The Missus got some small dishes which She enjoyed.

While everything was prepared well; this was perhaps too much of the same flavor and it was rather fatiguing after a while.

Nice meal; though I'll probably stick with some kushikatsu next time.

Misokatsu Yabaton (ESCA Shop)
ESCA Underground Shopping Center
Tsubakimachi 6 No. 9 Gosaki Esca
Tsubakicho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, 453-0015
Hours:
11am – 10pm Daily

Trying to Beat the Heat – The Original Sab e Lee and Golden City

June 21, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants

Man, it has been pretty hot the last couple of days; at least for us, as Cathy says; “wimpy San Diegans”. On the good side; this means revisiting some of my favorite places for dishes I enjoy during hot spells. I really do miss one of “staples”, a good Sichuan Liang Mian, which just doesn’t seem to exist in San Diego anymore. So, I stuck with other standbys.

The Original Sab e Lee:

**** TOSEL is now Zab Linda

I really haven’t been much since they’ve relocated. Like I said previously, I’ve not a clue who the folks who work here are these days….except for the one young man who has been there for a while. Went with one of the guys from work….he said he could eat spicy, but then decided to order it a heat level three. I told him he needs to order at least a five or he just can’t eat with me anymore. And so we did, and he did fine.

Nahm Tok.

Best dish of the day; though I think this needs more rice powder and I should have ordered it at least a 7 or something. Good citrus, nice fish sauce, not overly sweet….nice with sticky rice.

Issan Sausage:

Solid as always.

Nice sour and pork flavor….like I said in my recent Thai Papaya post; “while there might be better versions of Thai/Lao style sausage in San Diego these days….this is still a staple…..” Some peanut, a sliver of ginger, wrapped in cabbage, yields nice porky-sour tones.

Koi Neua:

Sorry to say they’ve done something to what was once a favorite of mine. I had been hopeful that the version I’d had here on my last visit was a fluke, but sadly, it was not.

The texture was off and it seemed to have been “cooked” in citrus too long.

It was not nearly as good as in the past.

I remember the joy that Koby expressed when I asked about this dish way back when. I do miss Koby at times; things were simpler, the menu was there to please a smaller sampling, but times do change. I guess I’m sticking with Thai Papaya. Perhaps I’ll run into Maylee one of these days and I can ask her about some of the SeL staples that are no longer on the menu.

The Original Sab E Lee
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Golden City:

**** Golden City has closed

So, one afternoon I had to buy a bunch of take-out for the Missus’s coworkers. This netted me a $10 off card for Golden City.

With the Missus at work; I decided to get an old favorite, the Kwai Fei Ji….which, after the coupon was $3.49.

The ginger-scallion-sesame oil sauce was spot on; though the chicken was on the tougher side. Still, I whacked the whole thing……no rice, nothing….just Kwai Fei Chicken for dinner.

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

So, what have you been eating to beat the heat?

Breakfasts of Champions – Fernandez Restaurant and SuperNatural Sandwiches

June 19, 2017 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches

Here are a couple more nice breakfasts.

Fernandez Restaurant and Catering:

It's been a few years since I've been here. I recently had some pretty terrible birria de res (an upcoming post) and needed to get something good into my system. Still located in that rather random apartment cum modified office building, they've put up a nice sign have a separate take-out window, and have a host/hostess podium now!

And the folding banquet chairs have been replaced with some pretty colorful versions as well……

As you notice; Jorge is still the main man here as everyone seems to know him. He smiles and talks to all the customers.

I got the Tacos de Birria con Nervio, man I love that tendon on top of those tacos.

Buttery tendon; nice beefy meat, seasoning and spices coming through, a fairly picante salsa, all in slightly crunchy, dipped, and fried tortillas (tacos dorados). Cilantro and onion, a squeeze of lime……and you're all set.

The consommé seemed to have more spices and was less beefy than I recalled, though it was just as rich. A touch of salt, squeeze of lime, some onions and cilantro for good measure and that "aaah" factor just came through.

As I mentioned in my post four years ago….I only wish this place was closer to home.

Good prices; very nice folks (not less than four people asked me how I enjoyed my meal), and delicious birria.

Fernandez Restaurant and Catering
2265 Flower Ave
San Diego, CA 92154
Hours:
Wed – Sunday 8am – 2pm

Breakfast at Supernatural Sandwiches:

**** SuperNatural Sandwiches has closed

So, I'm not sure if you saw this sign.

Yes, it says breakfast. Caught me totally by surprise. Though I gotta say they always have some new wrinkle.

The bummer was; breakfast is only from 9 to 11 am, Monday to Friday. How often am I able to get up here during those hours? Well, because of crazy scheduling and meetings close by, I was able to drop by around 930 and try a breakfast sandwich, one that held me all the way until dinner.

It was kind of strange seeing SuperNatural looking empty like this……

Anyway……now that I had a chance….why not have a "Sasquatch". I'm still waiting for the "Unicorn" BTW.

This was a good sandwich! I think it's the thick cut, not overly salty, griddled pastrami that really brought a lot of flavor and a bit of crispness to this, there was even a sneaky touch of spice hidden in his forest of food. Working in tandem with that buttery roll, this was an over-the-top sounding sandwich with flavors solidly rooted in what I expected.

Yes there's hashbrowns, but it went well with the egg and pastrami….which I wish was a bit more runny, but was decent.

Like I said….no lunch needed, this easily held me until dinner.

There are of course, always possible areas of improvement…..

–Like having moist towelettes, because these sandwiches are messy and I hate going to meetings with buttered-pastrami hands.

–I know these are young dudes, with probably great social lives….but I think they can manage to open at 9am on weekends and serve up some breakfast…..I really do.

–I'm still waiting for a sandwich that I know exists…..but I've never seen it….it must be invisible……of ham and pineapple flavor…. the Unicorn?

Well, at least I know Sasquatch exists, right? And it's pretty tasty…..

SuperNatural Sandwiches
7094 Miramar Rd. #122
San Diego, CA 92121

Montreal – Bouillon Bilk

June 18, 2017 mmm-yoso Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Fine Dining, Montreal, Travel

The weather had turned rather gloomy and rainy when I awoke from my nap. I needed to run a few errands; get some cash, pick-up a few items from the drug store, so I decided to let the Missus nap while I headed out.

The rain wasn't too bad; mostly annoying drizzles and occasional gust of wind. I'm fairly certain that the locals would scoff at folks who grumbled about this weather after all; it ain't nothing compared to typical winters here.

I managed to get my stuff done….a quick trip to Calforex on Peel; even better than my bank's ATM foreign exchange rate. And a quick stop at Jean Coutu for some toothpaste…and a few snack of course.

I got to walk down the very commercial St Catherine Street with all the usual suspects….H&M, Puma, Guess, Zara…..

Though there always seems to be a church around the corner. I suddenly recalled a well known quote about Montreal by Mark Twain: "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window."

The Missus was starting to wake when I got back to the room. We just relaxed for a while; our dinner reservations weren't until 8pm, then headed out to dinner….the rain had paused for us it seemed. I'd made reservations at the rather trendy and hip Bouillon Bilk……the idea of sharing plates, with seasonal fare was just up the Missus's alley.

The restaurant, located in an old Electronic Repair and Retail Shop…indeed, the restaurant still has no "real" sign as it still says "Multi-Systems Electronique" on the banner. I guess when you're this popular, you really don't need a sign, right? We'd kinda enjoyed the "old" Izakaya Sakura before the sign went up in 2015.

We really enjoyed the service; efficient, not overly hovering, appropriate in the very "Canadian" way. When we mentioned how tables were moving, on a Monday no less, he mentioned that there were three distinct crowds…pre-theatre, the 730-8pm, and post theatre…and this was actually pretty nicely paced.

Bouillon Bilk offers a nice looking tasting menu; but we decided to order a la carte. We started with some cocktails; an Old Fashioned for the Missus, a Martini for me.

The bread arrived. Something both the Missus and I noticed; it seemed like serving cold bread (usually with fabulous butter) is the norm in these parts.

We started with the "Strawberries"; basically a strawberry salad.

As I mentioned in other posts; it seemed that the flavors of the fruit and vegetables practically shined. This was no exception; the sweet-tart of the strawberries; along with the crunch of the squash blossoms; the slight green-bitter of the greens, the nuttiness of the millet, you could taste it all. The romesco was a nice savory touch and the dab of crème fraiche would add another dimension when used for the berries. An excellent dish.

For us, the Hamachi was a total opposite.

Fennel and Yuzu Kosho really don't go together really well and the flavors in this dish really clashed. The excellent quality Hamachi was totally lost in a miasma of grapefruit, fennel, and yuzu kosho.

By far, the Missus's favorite dish of the night was the "Lobster". The Missus isn't a big fan of lobster….She thinks it's rather bland. But man, this was delici-yoso!!!

The lobster was nice and sweet, slightly briny, the texture tender, just perfect. The cucumber yogurt sauce was just enough in terms of the clean cucumber tones and slight, milky acidy. We could have just eaten those radishes by themselves; it was so crisp, slightly sweet, with a touch of pungency.

The Asparagus was the star of the Veal dish.

Man, the flavor of the asparagus which went so well with the bitterness of the greens……everything else just was in the background.

And of course; we had to get the "Duck".

We really, really, loved the Parsnip Puree; which went so well with the foie gras; the coffee flavors paired nicely with the duck breast. Kind of two dishes in one.

Out last was the Lamb and Pappardelle. This one didn't live up to its potential.

The pasta was undercooked and the braised lamb was very salty. So salty you really couldn't taste much else.

The Missus went with a dessert She saw everyone getting and loved it.

I went with a very nice Vermouth. A wonderful way to end a meal.

Bouillon Bilk is one of those places that seems to take chances……and when things work out they are really memorable in the delicious kind of way. When things don't seem to work out; it's just the opposite. At least none of the dishes were boring. The prices weren't too bad considering the exchange rate; coming out to something like about $120 U.S. without tip. In terms of quality of ingredients totally worth it. Though I think the Missus would select BB's sister restaurant Cadet if/when we return.

Bouillon Bilk
1595 Boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Canada

Montreal – Notre-Dame Basilica, Vieux – Montreal, Maison Christian Faure, and Atwater Market

June 17, 2017 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Canada, Cheese, Croissants, Markets & Grocers, Montreal, Travel

After arriving and getting into Montreal rather late the previous evening. Both the Missus and I had a long (for us) and deep sleep. After waking and taking care of a few things we were ready to go. There was rain in the forecast, so we decided to head on out. Our location was very convenient for checking out Old Montreal.

There's an interesting vibe to Montreal, artsy and trendy, yet down to earth, international and diverse, it does indeed feel like "somewhere else", but the people are friendly and not stuffy.

And just after our first evening! Things that were going through my head as we strolled past Place Jean-Paul Riopelle, which is named after the Artist. The fountain is one of his works named "La Joute" (The Joust), which was once located at Olympic Park, but was moved here when this park was created. It actually runs over Autoroute 720.

There was really only one place that I really needed to see in Montreal; everything else on my list was food. I'd made dinner reservations for five of the six nights we were in Quebec.

I just wanted to see this:

The interior of the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montreal ("Notre-Dame Basilica"). It is indeed as beautiful as the photos I've seen. At this time of the day not too crowded either. From the intricate wood carving to the 24 carat gold stars in the ceiling it is quite a site. You can find a nice concise history here.

Of course many famous events have taken place here; from the funeral of Pierre Trudeau to the wedding of Celine Dion. Here's one interesting fact I got from one of my favorite Websites (and books) Atlas Obscura. There's only one person buried in the crypt under the basilica. It's the American who designed this version of the church; James O'Donnell. According to Atlas Obscura, O'Donnell wished to be buried in his most renowned work. The problem being, well, he was not Catholic. On his deathbed, he converted, and thus, became the only soul buried in the crypt….which he designed.

The square in front of the Basilica is Place d'Armes; surrounded by some pretty impressive structures like the Banque de Montreal Building.

At two corners of the building at 500 Place d'Armes are two interesting statues. Each is facing away from one another, but the pooches in their arms know better.

We then headed down Notre Dame Street passing the Palais de Justice and the Vieux (Old) Palais de Justice, now the Service des Finances building, then the Hotel de Ville (City Hall).

Things didn't seem very busy on this morning; perhaps because it was quite overcast and it was supposed to rain. We headed further down the street and took a right on Rue Bonsecours. Right down the street is pretty looking church; the Chapelle de Notre Dame de Bonsecours. This is known as the "Sailor's Church" because this is where seamen came to give thanks for being saved at sea. It was still rather early in the day and the church wasn't open yet.

Taking a right at the church, you run into a building you can't miss; the dome of the Marche Bonsecours. Opened in 1847; this was home to the Parliament of Canada in 1849, it was the Montreal City Hall from 1852 – 1878. It also served as the city's main market for over a century. It closed as market in 1963 and I read that it was scheduled to be demolished. But, as you can clearly see, that, thankfully didn't happen.

The iconic structure now houses various shops and restaurants. Again, we passed before the place opened, but it was nice a quiet. More on the history of the Marché Bonsecours here. Walking pass, you enter the popular cobblestone streets of Old Montreal.

We decided to stop for a caffeine fix and something small to eat at the highly recommended Maison Christian Faure.

Christian Faure is the recipient of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in Baking a very prestigious title. This shop was right of Place Royale and seemed perfect for a short stop.

The place however, in spite of the best intentions of the staff was a hot mess….I watched customers sitting around waiting for espresso…we were seated and left stranded without menus for 10 minutes….after flagging down the harried young man and placing our order, we then waited 30 minutes for a croissant, espresso, and iced espresso. Customers were just getting up and asking for their checks. The poor Server apologized telling us it was his first day….but where was his support?

The croissant was not my our liking; as it was too chewy, lacking in the flakiness or the light buttery flavor we look for. It was also a bit dry as well.

The espresso were fine.

We felt bad for the staff….and the customers.

Maison Christian Faure
355 Place Royale
Montreal, Canada

Upon leaving, the weather seemed to be holding out. The Missus decided that She wanted to visit Atwater Market….and She wanted to walk there! So we did.

So we headed down Rue Notre Dame….I got to show Her other places I had on my "list" that we wouldn't have time to check out like Joe Beef and Liverpool House. We took a turn at Atwater Avenue and……

The place wasn't very busy on this morning and it was too early for the food stands.

There were the usual suspects….a location of Premiere Moisson, etc. But nothing caught the Missus's attention.

As we turned and made our way out, we decided to check out this cheese shop.

The shop carried all types of produce, the Missus got some Kombucha, and then we headed to the cheese counter where we met the nicest, friendliest gentleman who chatted with us about our preferences in cheese. We monetuioned enjoying strong and pungent washed rind cheese and he explained that Quebec really doesn't specialize in that type of cheese, but made a recommendation; a L'Origine de Charlevoix from Laiterie Charlevoix and one he gave us a sample of, which was fantastic; a Tomme de Grosse Île from Fromagerie Île-aux-Grues.

That Tomme de Grosse Île was really good; semi-soft, mildly grassy and sweet, slight acidity and butteriness, with mild salt. Very complex flavors, none of which over-powered the other.

Even better than the cheese was how gracious the gentleman at La Fromagerie Atwater was. We'd gladly return.

La Fromagerie Atwater
134 Avenue Atwater
Montreal, Canada

As we left Atwater Market, it began to drizzle. We ducked into the Lionel-Groulx station and still having that 24 hours metro pass, caught the Green Line back to Place-des-Arts which was two blocks from our hotel.

It was time to relax, enjoy some cheese, and take a nice nap.

Thanks for reading!

Beaune – Bistrot du Coin and Restaurant le Conty

June 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Burgundy, France, French Restaurants, Travel

We did learn something our first night in Beaune. We needed reservations at all the places I had on my "list". At most places (not all) it seemed that you could make reservations the day before or even during lunch service, but it seems that walk-ins were really hard. So we decided to get our reservations for the following two nights taken care of.

On the bright side….well, it was a beautiful night to be walking around the town.

Beaune was totally different at night; quiet, even more relaxed. After finding two places that would take reservations for the upcoming two nights, we decided to chill and decided where to grab dinner.

One block from our apartment was this little wine bar named Bistrot du Coin.

It looked like just the place for us.

They were doing some pretty good business and the bartender was very efficient, friendly, and charming, in spite of the packed bar area.

After having that amazing white at David Toutain, the Missus as obsessed with wine from Saint-Roman and ordered a glass of it from the board.

Service was totally by the book…..

And they have quite a bottle list as well.

The lower level looks like it's set-up for groups and tastings….or perhaps if you bought one of those 100 Euro bottles, you could enjoy it here.

Nice place to grab a glass and relax.

Le Bistrot du Coin
2 Place Ziem
Beaune, France

After finishing up our wine, we decided to just walk around and see what was open….this place was close by.

We headed down the stairs.

The place looked charming….set in this little cellar and they had a couple of tables open.

The folks were very friendly and guided us to a table. We weren't too hungry, after having quite a bit to eat earlier in the day, so I thought two appetizers, and a nice bottle of wine would suit us just fine.

Of course the Missus found something from Saint-Romain, which She enjoyed.

Since the Missus had discovered that She actually loves Escagot, I ordered that and the Lentil Terrine with Duck Breast and Foie Gras (of course).

The Terrine (19€) arrived first and looked quite pretty, though the presentation seemed a bit dated.

We loved the salad; fresh, crisp, refreshing. The terrine was way too cold and very salty, which reduced how much we enjoyed it. Sad, duck breast and foie gras, two of my favorite things….but this just didn't do it for me.

The snails (16€) were next.

These were the least favorite version we had on this trip…..lacking enough garlic, not enough richness, and too much salt.

Nice service though. Good wine. Fairly pricy.

Restaurant Le Conty
5 rue Ziem
Beaune, France

I was hoping our upcoming dinners would be better.

La Vecindad Neighborhood Tacos

June 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

I know a couple who can't stop raving about La Vecindad. So, when I had some meetings in the area recently, I decided to drop by.

Located in the old Guild Theatre; this location really hasn't done well as businesses sure don't seem to last long here.

I gotta say, this place really went for it with regards to bright colors, making the place look quite festive.

The drill here is you go to the counter and order…..the young lady working was an absolute joy; so friendly! I looked over the menu and not really sure what to order, just winged it ordering three tacos. Not cheap at $3.75 a piece, but heck, in this age of hipster tacos, I've kinda gotten used to higher taco prices for a better quality (and tasting) product.

Though I thought the salsas here were really mild. And on this day, I had to ask for some limes….though that really friendly young lady was more than happy to get me some.

I ended up ordering an Al Pastor, El Perron, and a Taco de Papas (potato).

I quickly noticed how hefty these tacos were.

Of the three, I enjoyed the Al Pastor the best.

First thing I noticed that the rather succulent and tender pork, was not the usual thin cut pork and didn't have the bright red color I'm used to with the usual Al Pastor I consume. The flavor, was on the mild side and lacking in the sweet-fruity tones I get from versions I enjoy. The flavor of the white corn tortilla was quite mild and I prefer a more assertive corn flavor. As whole, very mild taste wise, but not bad.

Funny, I was rather happy to see a Tacos El Perron on the menu; it made me think of what I had at the "counterfeit" Tacos Yaqui in San Ysidro that was only open for a short time. This was definitely not that.

When I think of Tacos Perron, the meat is grilled flank steak, mild, but with a nice beefy flavor. This was the usual thin slice beef, you know, the stuff used on your run-of-the-mill carne asada. It was the tough side and lacked flavor. Also, this version used the corn tortilla, which, as you can see in the photo to the right was not up to the task, versus the flour tortilla with a nice layer of cheese melted on the bottom to help preserve it. No beans on this one. It had some nicely seasoned nopales, which, while on the salty side really brought that green bean like flavor along with a pleasant sliminess and griddled onions which were also quite good.

The Potato Taco was nice in terms of texture as the potatoes weren't mushy and dry.

But this just seemed quite bland. The really mild salsas really didn't help much either.

Overall, not bad….nothing outstanding per se, but decent. I did have a nice short chat with the young lady working here. She told me to come back for "Taco Tuesday" when the tacos were two for six bucks and try the two top sellers; the Campechano and the Costa Azul. So I did just that….returning on a Tuesday a few weeks later.

I had to crack up when I got to the salsa bar; notice the Salsa Roja is labeled Salsa Verde and so forth.

Following orders I got the two tacos…..

The Campechano had all the ingredients; thin sliced, though under flavored and rather unwieldy and chewy beef and longaniza; which was on the milder side with regards to flavor, but decent.

Along with the nopales and onions like the El Perron and griddled potatoes which were nicely seasoned. This had a certain greasiness to it and again the tortilla was not up so the task. It was one hefty taco though; that is easily worth the three bucks on taco Tuesday.

The Costa Azul was much better.

On my first bite I was greeted with a nice bacon wrapped shrimp. The bacon was so crisp that it was like having a bacon flavored batter. The creaminess of the avocado and the slightly milky cheese worked together nicely. And the absence of grease or liquid, the tortilla held up, though it's still not my favorite tortilla.

The verdict? I really like the folks who work here. They are really friendly.

Definitely mixed results with the tacos I sampled and was not fond of how they prep and cook their beef. I don't think this would be counted as a "destination" taco stop for me, but I'd stop by if I'm in the neighborhood and hungry again. After all, they call themselves La Vencidad "Neighborhood Tacos".

La Vecindad Neighborhood Tacos
3827 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 10pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 11pm
Sun 10am – 9pm

Revisits – Island Style Cafe and Katsu Cafe

June 11, 2017 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

A revisit double dose of places with "Café" in their name.

Island Style Café:

It had been over a year since my last visit and I wanted some time away from the office for lunch. So I decided to head over to Island Style Café. Looking at my earlier posts, it's hard to believe this place has been here for nine years already! Time sure does fly.

The place was almost full when I arrived. Seems like business is doing quite well.

Of course I got the Kaloko Moco…..I'm still fascinated with the sweet-savory interplay of flavors with that crepe.

This time around the hamburger patty was nice and moist, the gravy not too salty, though the eggs, like a couple times before were over-well instead of over easy like I requested. The fried rice was nice and moist.

Man, nine years….though the food here has been fairly consistent over those years; my appetite has not and I was only able to finish half of this…..

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124
Hours:
Tues – Fri 9am – 2pm, 430pm – 8pm
Sat 7am – 8pm
Sun 7am – 3pm

Katsu Café:

Wanted to stay close to the office for lunch, so I decided to head back to Katsu Café. I wanted to check out how the Chicken Katsu was doing here….well, at least now it's actually called Chicken Katsu. For a long time it was "Chicken Cutlet" on the menu; though the name of the place was Katsu Café. The place filled up very quickly; the young lady manning the register was kind of surly, but the two Server were really nice.

If I had to note one thing that improved since Teri Café became Katsu Café, it would be the miso soup. Which, while still not great is decent and has enough miso in it.

Man, the portion sizes here seem to be getting larger.

But, just as on my previous visit the panko coating on the katsu just crumbled right off and the chicken was dry. I'm thinking either these guys overcook this stuff, the chicken is way too cold when they bread it, or the oil temp is off. The rice was also subpar; dry, with hard bits. The best items were the standard issue green salad and the potato-mac salad, which was nicely seasoned, cold, and pretty darn good.

It's still more about quantity….or even more quantity, than quality. I finished the two salads and left most of the katsu and just about all the rice.

Katsu Cafe
7305B Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Vancouver/Richmond – The Alibi Room and the Richmond Night Market

June 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Chicken Wings, Desserts, Festivals & Events, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vancouver, Canada

After a nice afternoon nap, we headed off to the Gastown area.

It was a nice day to be out and about, if a bit on the warm side.

The Missus enjoyed window shopping and we stopped at a few places; like at Kit and Ace near the Steam Clock. Where this guy was hanging out.

It was indeed rather warm, so we headed down the street to a place named the Alibi Room. The place was pretty much full. But the nice Server told us that if we weren't eating anything and didn't mind not having table service, we could head on downstairs.

Which turned out to be a comfortable place to grab a few beers. There are over 50 pulls in this place. And they do half pours as well; which we appreciated.

What we had is lost to posterity, but I recall really enjoying the vibe.

A nice stop; we'll be back the next time we're in town.

Alibi Room
157 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8
Canada

We needed to first catch the bus; then the SkyTrain to get to our next stop. We had day metro passes and I had the bus stop indicated on my phone. We found our stop and a guy who looked homeless came up to us. I immediately thought he'd be asking for some cash….but instead he told me, "sir, this bus stop has been temporarily moved to the street above." Thanksful, I offered him some money, but he refused, saying "this one is on me." Only in Canada!

We got off at the Bridgeport SkyTrain Station and followed the well marked signs.

So, we followed this group of people who were having a great old time and got to what looked like ticket booths and a gate. A really nice young man came up to us and asked us if we were customers of 'xxx' and had our customer number. We explained that we are from out of town and have obviously found the wrong entrance. The young man pointed across the way to a line of what looked like 200-300 people. He told us "that's the general admission line; this line is for 'xxx' customers, 'xxx' is sponsoring tonight's night market and if you have either a zoom pass or are one of their customers you can come in this way." Now, if I recall a the passes were like $25 a book, good for so many entrances, so that would be a waste. So we thanked him and were headed to the line when he asked us where we were from. We told him San Diego. In a hushed, conspiratory tone he told us to "wait here". A minute later he returned with two tickets. You are now officially customers of 'xxx', if anyone asks you if you are customers of 'xxx', make sure to tell them yes. What a nice gesture….you gotta love Canada.

The Richmond Night Market claims to be the largest Night Market in North America and I don't doubt this claim as the choices, and crowds are staggering.

Now, if you read the blog quite often, you know I'm way behind on some of my travel posts and our visit was during early August of 2016. The Missus had seen a bunch of stuff posting to Instagram……about a dessert…..She just had to have it.

The dessert "du jour" of that period of time was the Raindrop Cake (you can see Kirbie's recipe here). It's based on Japanese Mizu Shingen Mochi. And kind of looks like a breast implant if you ask me.

The Missus got Her confection and we took a seat.

And soon folks started coming around asking what this stuff was….we actually offered them a taste if they wanted one….but most of them just looked kind of, well, puzzled. Anyway, this was "meh", sugar water and agar…..I prefer just straight up Warabimochi coating in kinako to this.

Our table was next to the Prehistoric Park area and while taking a look at the photo of the T-Rex below, it wasn't the replica of the dinosaur that caught my attention; but the sign to right that said, "FanTuan Delivery, Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere"…..I don't think San Diego is included in the "Anywhere" though.

While the Missus went for the sweets; I had one place in mind.

Little Phnom Penh is famous for their Chicken Wings with Lemon and Pepper sauce. So I placed my order and watched them make my wings.

Notice that container with the spoon; the wings are fried, then mixed in a wok with garlic, scallions, and a spoon full of that mysterious white substance….which I'm fairly certain isn't only salt.

The wings are light, though not as crisp as I prefer, the garlic could be cooked a bit more; it's still on the bitter side. The wings are tender and moist, but I'm not a big fan of the lemon sauce; which tastes like bottled lemon juice with black pepper. Still, this was good overall.

There sure was a huge variety of "stuffs" available…….some quite interesting.

This seemed more "County Fair – Carnival" than Night Market and the place was starting to get packed.

As we wove our way around people; we heard this guy……..voice like an old fashioned Carnival Barker, with a Chinese accent of course.

As we walked up; the smell of cumin danced in the air……we both love yang rou chuan and this guy cracked us up.

We got lamb and lamb kidney and while not great, this was pretty tender, though it could have used more cumin.

This "Chef James" had me wondering who he was. If you'd like to find out his story you can read it here.

Overall a fun time for us.

Richmond Night Market
May – October
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC V6X 1Y4
Canada
Fri-Sat 7pm – MN
Sun 7pm – 11pm

By the time we got back to the apartment, the sun had set. It was a beautiful clear night. We finished the rest of the Roast Duck and Rice and I cracked open a brew…..

And sat in the Solarium of the apartment watching the weekend action on the Street below.

Life was good…..