mmm-yoso – Page 218

Granada: A walk around town and Saint Germain

February 20, 2016 mmm-yoso Granada, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

After a much needed nap, we decided to take a walk around Granada before heading to our dinner location. We took off in a random direction to the end of Calle Animas finding that it was a shortcut to Calle Cuchilleros and Catolicos.

And ended up in this pretty little square; named Plaza del Padre Suarez.

Lovely colors…..

Right across the street from the square is the Casa de los Tiros, which is now a museum. I loved the coat of arms above the door. A sword stands poised over a heart with the inscription "El corazón manda" (the heart is in command).

There's a restaurant at the end of the plaza, we impulsively made reservations for dinner the next night…..I thought we might want something other than tapas by then.

The Missus saw some stairs leading in the direction of the Alhambra….of course we had to head up those stairs.

We loved the arteries that lead down along the way and the views of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the background.

I thought we had seen enough, but the Missus was determined to make it to the top.

At the end of the trail was what looked like a fortress….this is the Hotel Alhambra.

Heading back down we meandered through the streets of the Realejo neighborhood, taking time to stop and admire the Iglesia de Santo Domingo.

We ended up on Carrera de la Virgen and really enjoyed walking around. At the end of the street is Plaza de Humilladera and nice green space. For some reason, I really love this photo.

And the Fuente de las Granadas.

Notice the pomegranates? You'll see them everywhere in Granada, as it is the official symbol of the city. In fact, the pomegranate is called "granada" is Spanish….makes sense, huh?

There seems to be so many fountains in Granada. This one, on Plaza del Campilo is named Fuente de las Batallas - the Fountain of the Battles.

According to this post, this is where folks in Granada celebrate their soccer victories.

There was a reason why we were down in this area and killing time. We had reservations for dinner at a shop named La Oliva. The owner holds special dinners a few times a week. Multi-course dinners that feature the local olive oil and wine, with typical local dishes. I'd made arrangements a few months ahead of time for one of these dinners. Unfortunately the owner had taken ill so dinner was cancelled.

So it was time for plan B. We took our time making our way back up Calle Catolicos, a major shopping street….then cutting through Bib Rambla and the back of the Cathedral, then back up Gran Via until we turned down a side street to a wine bar named Saint Germain.

The place had a rather extensive listing of over 30 wines by the glass…..all from Spain in addition to Cava and beer.

We loved the atmosphere….we both ended up with our favorite wine…

The Missus ended up enjoying the house Blanco Seco, while I really liked the Encaste, a nice red, I believe a Cabernet from Ronda.

And of course, there was a free tapa with every glass. We really enjoyed what this place put out. First off, a wonderful olive oil-cheese-onion tostada, with nice oregano flavor, the bread so crisp.

Then a remarkable arroz-verde, rice with cheese and mushroom that was a pure joy to eat. Everything in balance, savory-salty-earthy, the rice cooked perfectly. This was perhaps the Missus's favorite single dish in Granada.

By this time, the Missus had discovered the joy of wondering what tapa would come out with Her next glass of wine. We were disappointed when it was a rather simple salad.

And rather surprised when something that looked just like a Mexican Flauta arrived. This was delicious by the way; the creamy, savory cheese-béchamel filling was very good.

I loved the fried fava beans too. I asked and was told this is a "canelone", a Spanish version of cannelloni and a specialty of Catalan, which was thought to be brought to Spain in the 19th century. You learn something new everyday.

By this time the place was filling up.

We had intended on ordering some food, but ended up stuffed on tapas. Our bill? 20 euros….which put us at less than forty bucks for lunch and dinner, crazy. By this time the place was full….on this evening full of locals and college students. We'd end up coming here on every evening while in town…..there would be a combination of locals and folks from the hotel up the street. We never had the same tapa twice……it became sort of a game for the Missus…..the let's see what we get kind of thing. I can't say I didn't enjoy playing along.

Saint Germain
Calle Postigo Velutti 4
Granada, Spain

Granada: Bodegas Casteneda

February 19, 2016 mmm-yoso Granada, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

Our train was scheduled to leave Atocha Station at 0745……we're not quite used to things being pitch black dark at 7am in the morning so that was somewhat disorienting to us. And yet, it was neat watching the sun rise over the horizon on the train…at 0845 no less….

We were of course, well prepared for any pangs of hunger. Armed with the Jamon Bellota from Ferpal. Part of the "fun" when travelling are the interesting characters you see. In this case, the middle aged, somewhat eccentric Japanese gentleman who brought a huge suitcase with him, in addition he wore two watches to go with the two cameras around his neck. He stuffed the suitcase on the seat next to him….only to find out that someone had that seat reserved. He quickly moved the gigantic suitcase to the storage area……then, in a strange twist of fate, the guy who sat next to him suddenly realized he was on the wrong car! Bummer…… And yet, not all was lost as he bought a bocadillo and assumed what I consider to be the classic "bocadillo pose".

After his sandwich; I watched him bring out a huge folder with tabs and review notes….about what, I'm not sure. Then I saw him bring out a smartphone….which led me to wonder why he needed two watches?

Since the tracks to Granada are being repaired we had to change from the train to a bus at Antequera-Santa Ana Station. Our good man ended up sitting right across from another eccentric looking middle aged Japanese gentleman who had a huge file folder of notes carrying a huge camera tri-pod. Aaaah, when soulmates meet! They had such an animated conversation during the bus ride to Granada Train Station which was going thru some major road work.

We were told to catch the bus on "LAC" – Avenida de la Constitucion, then transfer to the bus on Gran Via….of course we decided to walk.

The location of the AirBnB apartment was great, right off Plaza Nueva on Calle Animas…though we did find that so much was tourist based here. Finding a simple market or decent bakery was a bit difficult. Yet, it was so close to the Judicial Gate of the Alhambra (right up the street) and many of the popular places it was a great location.

A big plus was the location of the Alhambra Bookstore where we could print our prepaid tickets for our visit, thus being able to take the nearby Judicial Gate the next day.

Granada takes pride in still offering what we were told is "traditional tapas"……free tapas with every drink. Two of the most highly recommended places were within a short walk of our apartment; Los Diamantes and Bodegas Casteneda. Los Diamantes seemed very touristy, right on the main drag….though we did see the original location a bit later on which seemed less so. Bodegas Casteneda an alleyway off the main drag seemed to have a more local clientele…….based on the older local folks who seemed to be making the rounds after (before?) church on this Sunday.

A lot of older couples would just drop by; have a drink, then move on……perhaps to the next place.

Our free tapa…with the glass of tinto for the Missus and my beer was a rather generous portion of bacalao (preserved cod) with a very nice tomato sauce.

It was a bit early for more drinks for us so I ordered "tapa" size portions of Fabes con Jamon (fava beans with jamon) which the Missus absolutely loves and berenjenas relleno (stuffed eggplant) which was very cold in terms of temperature and in spite of looks was on the greasy side and lacked flavor.

Not quite the most auspicious first meal in Granada….yet quite worth the 12 Euro price in our mind. So while we'd probably not return it was quite reasonable for us.

It's quite amazing that the servers are able to keep track of things, but they do. Bodegas Casteneda also has a full service restaurant next door; don't confuse this place with Antigua Bodega Casteneda right around the corner….there's some familiar connection, but to my understanding, has no true link to this location.

Bodegas Castañeda
Calle de Almireceros 1-3
Granada, Spain

Madrid: All Those Familiar Places; Restaurante Badila, Ferpal, and Metro Bistro

February 18, 2016 mmm-yoso Madrid, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

It was on the trip back from Seoul and Japan that the Missus told me She wanted to head back out ASAP…..in February to be exact…..crazy. I wasn't going to have a whole lot of vacation time and finally decided that Andalucia; super hot in the summer, would be nice during the winter. We'd be book-ending our travels with single nights in Madrid. I booked a Junior Suite at the AC Carlton which is a short 5-10 minute walk from Atocha Station. The suite wasn't that much more expensive than a regular room and I figured our chances of being able to check in early during the slow season would be good and it was. We were able to check in at 10am.

Even though I've flown extensively over the years, I've never been able to sleep on flights unless in First/Business. It was no different this time. We were both fairly pooped and since lunch starts late in Madrid….well, all of Spain we had time to take a nap.

Trying to figure out what to have for lunch was a snap for the Missus….She really enjoyed Restaurante Badila during our previous visit. So we were back at this small, but quite busy "menu del dia" (menu of the day) place. It was a nice, now familiar walk to Tirso de Molina, then down the side street to the restaurant.

Badila is one of those places that you really don't stumble upon. Menu del Dia is a great way to have a filling and economical lunch. You get three courses and a beverage for a single price.

Determining what to order is the toughest part. Of course the Missus and I share everything, which made this a fun lunch.

Our two primeros were the Judias Verdes (Green Beans) with Potatoes and simple, but very tasty braised beans and potato dish that could have used a bit more salt.

I went with the Calamar Encebollado con Arroz. While the rice was terrible, the amazingly tender braised squid, along with the caramelized onions, which added a wonderful savory-sweet component was a revelation.

The Missus always hesitates when ordering squid, but this changed Her mind about it. The salt was perfect; there was a hint of garlic, a very tasty dish.

Of course the Missus got the Rabo de Toro Estofado – the braised oxtails.

Perfect texture, nice beefy flavor along with the tender connective tissue.

I basically got what I ordered the last time the estofado in a white sauce; this time it was Carrillado – pork cheek, and the stewing liquid was sherry based (Amontillado).

Of course, the dry, unfortified sherry was used for the sauce, which was very tasty. More on Jerez in a future post.

This came with a pile of "chips" which was more than we could finish. We each had a glass of "tinto" as our drink and "café solo" for dessert as we both really wanted to head back to the room and nap after this meal.

Restaurante Badila
Calle San Pedro Martir 6
Madrid, Spain

We needed the caffeine as there were a couple of things we needed to do and headed up to one of the Missus's favorite spots in Madrid; Puerta del Sol….of course She needed to take a photo of the Tio Pepe sign…..

Of course, this being February, it was a bit colder than when we were here last……dipping into the mid-low thirties at night……

First stop was the El Cortes Ingles department store. I was able to get most of my Renfe (Spain's train operator) tickets online. However, we had a side trip to one of the White Hill Towns and after fruitlessly trying to get tickets online, I contacted the town's Tourist Bureau and found out that train tickets aren't released for that destination until a week before. El Cortes Ingles has a travel agency and the folks are very nice, unlike many of the ticket agents in Atocha. So we got our tickets……there will be more on this later as there was a bit of a mix-up.

Next stop….well, we'd have to keep our strength up during our ride to Granada the next day; so we headed back to Ferpal. I'm really not good a languages….but I know "cien (100) gram, Jamon Bellota Pata Negra para llevar (to go)". I went through this whole thing in previous posts…….if you're in Spain, do yourself a favor, find a good "cutter" and get the really good stuff; like the "5-J" Jamon Bellota (raised on acorns) pata negra (black pig).

It is claimed that the fat of jamon bellota is over 55% oleic acid…..actually making it rather healthy. I'll say this, the good stuff starts sweating almost immediately after being sliced.

The flavor is a balanced slightly salty and "sweet", the texture is luxurious, when sliced (by hand of course) well, it almost melts in your mouth.

Ferpal
Calle del Arenal 7
Madrid, Spain

We spent the rest of the time visiting those other familiar places.

Leaving time for yet another short nap before dinner. Folks eat late in Spain, even later in Madrid. The sunset at 620pm kind of threw me off and we both wondered if this would affect when folks have dinner….it didn't. Instead of waiting until 830 to eat, we decided to head back to Metro Bistro which opens at 7pm. We managed to snag the last table in the bar area that was available without reservations.

The menu was basically unchanged from our previous visit, which suited us well as there were a couple of dishes that we really enjoyed.

The Missus really enjoyed the Cava (sparkling wine) we had here last time so we started with that.

Lunch was still lingering with us, so we ended up only ordering three dishes, two of them starters. The only item we hadn't had before was the Foie Gras.

The guava reduction really added a nice touch….the portion size was quite huge and perhaps this might have been too much of a good thing….I know, this from the guy who had foie gras three times a day in France.

The Missus didn't order the Roasted Mushroom topped with 65 Degree Egg…..and I wondered why. So I ordered it.

And the Missus is glad I did…even though it takes 20 minutes to make. This was even better than what we had last time. The earthy mushroom flavors came through so well; this time around we could make out the celery flavors in the sauce, which added a nice palate cleansing, almost salty component to the dish.

And then there's the egg…….

Need I say more?

The Beef Tartar was just as good as before.

The only real difference was the little bottle with the dropper that was delivered to our table with the dish. We were told it was a spicy chili oil. Not wanting to mess up the dish, I tasted the chili oil, which wasn't very spicy and quite bitter. It really brought nothing to the dish in my opinion so I had the Missus try it….same verdict….pass on the spicy oil.

A full "all in" for the beef tartare…refreshing, the mustard seed and minced capers really harmonize the flavor of the dish…the foie gras adding a nice creamy component, the micro greens the touch of bitterness……you can mix and match and get a totally different experience with every bite.

Service was much improved from our previous visit and just as friendly. The young man who served us was pleasantly surprised to find that we were from the States…he's born and raised in Madrid, but spent several years in New York City. Overall a very nice meal which put us in a great frame of mind….we were back in Spain.

Metro Bistro
Calle Imperial 3
Madrid, Spain

Thanks for reading!

Where in the world are we (again) Part 2

February 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Ronda, Seville, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine

Well, this one is pretty much in the books as I write this up on the train back to where we landed. It's been a great one. We stopped for one fantastic night in a hill town famous for it's bridge.

You can see why, right? Our apartment was perched over the valley below with an amazing view.

The town is also famous for one other thing.

We had one meal which turned out to be surprisingly good and somewhat innovative. Adding Japanese touches to dishes seems to be the thing here right now. Like this really good pork tataki…yes, that's raw pork and it's delici-yoso!

Our next stop was a fun one…..a live and vibrant, if somewhat confusing city.

With the third largest cathedral in Europe.

And a wonderful plaza.

We had several excellent meals as well. In fact, we may just have found our favorite city in this country.

As you can see we ate well.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. But I'm fairly certain we'll be back as we left out several key places/events here.

Thanks for reading!

Where in the world are we (again) part 1

February 10, 2016 mmm-yoso Granada, Madrid, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

We had just returned from Seoul and Japan, almost the very next day as a matter of fact, when the Missus told me, "let's go somewhere in February". The planning window and time was short so we decided to revisit what has become my second favorite destination.

Starting in a very familiar spot.

With only a single day we stuck to some familiar places and are glad we did.

The next morning we headed out before the sun rose…….which isn't too impressive, since the it rises at about 820 am this time of the year. We watched the sun slowly make its way up from the train window.

With jamon in hand of course.

And after switching mid way to a bus ended up at our current destination. Once the greatest city in Spain, things are different here. There's a magnificent Moorish Palace on a hill.

Things are quite different from anywhere else we've been to in this country.

People here are especially warm, friendly, and as you see the views spectacular.

Tons of history…..a Moorish Quarter and a Gypsy Quarter.

The city is proud of its history and still keep with the tradition of free tapas with every drink. The Missus was especially fond of two particular wine bars here.

Of course man cannot live by tapas alone…..which is totally untrue, we did a have few regular sit down meals.

It's time to head out to our next stop in a few hours. We'll miss this place.

There's rain in forecast…….we're hoping to keep dry.

Thanks for reading!

Madrid: Metro Bistro

February 3, 2016 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Madrid, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

It was our last evening in Madrid and we were feeling a bit, well, sad. The city was definitely much better the second time around. During our first pass through Madrid, we thought it, hot, loud, gritty, somewhat dirty….the second time around we took to the city, it seemed so vibrant, alive, for some reason it reminded me of China. Folks really seemed to have a good time and enjoy life. Perhaps it was the apartment right on Tirso de Molina, where we took such watching folks out socializing. At 630 in the evening, most folks weren't even thinking about eating.

Instead of having the obvious (tapas) for dinner, we decided to go with another recommendation from Emilio, a rather new (at the time), modern-fusion place named Metro Bistro. We even dropped by during lunch to make reservations for dinner.

They even started dinner service at the ungodly hour of 7pm! Our reservations were for 8pm and we were happy to not be the first customers of the evening.

The interior is quite modern, the staff, very nice, friendly, though some of the folks were somewhat eccentric and the service was a bit spotty as the pacing seemed a bit off.

Things started off quite nicely as we were brought a nice aperitif, a celery based cocktail that was like a celery mojito. Very nice, quite refreshing.

The menu itself was quite interesting, classic dishes with fusion-y touches. Braised butterfish with ponzu, Sweet and sour IberianPork, Salmorejo with Olive Oil "Ice Cream", stuff like that.

The bread was nice and made even better by the nice herb butters provided.

We started things off with Metro Bistro's take on the classic Catalan roasted vegetable dish, Escalibada (9,40 €). This version was topped with cold smoked eel, which added a nice savory-smokey flavor to the dish.

We were less impressed with the vegetables which were underseasoned and could have used a bit of color…..the vegetables were basically limp and flavorless.

The Steak Tartare (19 €) however, was excellent.

The wonderfully tender beef, which was rather lean was bolstered by having minced foie gras mixed in. The minced capers and more so the mustard seed gave the dish zest and a nice finish. The egg yolk added even more velvety texture, possibly overkill. The micro greens balanced out things with a touch of bitter and a nice crunchy texture. This was really, really, good.

What was delici-yoso was the wonderfully Roasted Mushroom topped with 65 Degree Egg (10,80 €).

Man, egg porn. The flavor of that egg was so pure, the yolk so rich and runny, you'd think it was the star of the dish. But for me, it was the intense, earthy flavors and meaty texture of the mushroom base and the crunchy and earthy fried trumpet mushrooms that really made this stand out for me. The Missus? Well, She's a big time egg lover…..'nuff said

The pseudo sousvidish Lamb Gigot (18€) was solid if not outstanding.

The truffle potatoes seemed a bit out of place in this dish and for some reason clashed with the gamey lamb. Still, eaten separately, each was tasty.

We had a nice Cava with dinner and the Missus destroyed the dessert.

In what ended up being the evening's entertainment, we watched one of the Server's struggle with opening a bottle of wine….first breaking the cork and then fiddling with whatever was left, pushing the cork into the bottle. He should have just quit and gotten a fresh bottle. It was somewhat painful watching him struggle…..I felt like standing up and grabbing the bottle away from him…..it was like passing that accident scene….you just can't help but looky-loo. Still, we enjoyed our dinner. When the flavors and textures "clicked" it was really good. We found the prices to be not too bad. It was nice finding a place like this around tourist Plaza Mayor. We'd gladly return.

Metro Bistro
Calle Imperial 3
Madrid, Spain

We picked up a nice bottle of Crianza on the way back to the apartment. Popping it open, we opened the window and watched the action below…..this is Tirso de Molina at 1030pm. Notice the kids playing……

Some folks are just starting to eat dinner….this was a Thursday mind you…..

At midnight, folks were just starting to eat at the place further down the block!

Talk about really knowing how to enjoy life! Of course, at 8am the place looks like a ghost town.

The next morning we walked the mile or so down to Atocha Station and caught the airport express. Remember the Jamon we bought at Ferpal? It came in real handy. The international gates at Madrid-Barajas Airport is like a cattle pen. There's no place to buy snacks, coffee….just vending machines. That package of Jamon Bellotta Pata Negra was sweating away in my bag. Man, it was delicious. Just looking at the photo makes me want to head back to Spain.

Thanks for reading!

The Poseidon Project

February 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Pubs and Pub Grub

The Poseidon Project, a beer bar and bottleshop opened quietly in my neck of the woods a couple of weeks back. I recall Candice asking me if I'd been there. At that time, busy with work, I hadn't had time to check them out. But that was soon rectified and I've managed to visit the place three times in recent weeks.

The place is somewhat easy to miss; next to Bay Park Coffee and the place we call the Hydroponic Shop. Parking is at a premium. It's an interesting choice for a locale, since there's a huge, diverse gap in the demographics of Bay Park, but I'm happy to have them in my neighborhood.

On our first visit we found that the place has 8 pulls, but a nice variety of bottles at a decent price. The set-up has that wide open theme that we like. I had the Father Ted from Half Door Brewing. I had enjoyed the beer from Half Door when I visited their tasting room a few months back.

This was a surprisingly light, somewhat apple-pear flavored brew. more of a Saison than a Belgian Pale Ale, but very drinkable. One thing that is quite apparent is the lack of food; this isn't a gastropub….it's only beer. Which tends to attract an interesting crowd.

There are the neigh-"bro"-hood folks, with their girlfriends, excited to try new things; there are the folks on laptops…the pseudo coffee shop gang, and what would be described as hipsters….but he most interesting folks are the beer snobs. I like sitting in front of the cold case and watch these folks hold court…..describing the attributes of each beer loudly…holding the bottle up to the light….grabbing a bottle, then putting it back and picking up a different bottle…..makes a cynical statement about temperature, color……just have a beer already! The staff here is very nice and tolerant…and quite friendly.

I find it quite entertaining from behind my glass of Cuvee de Tomme by Lost Abbey.

Since there isn't any food served at Poseidon, I've seen burritos from Santana's across the street and folks armed with bags of peanuts….I think an In N Out burger someone brought in. On this day there was a Food Truck present and some folks were enjoying Mariscos.

I've kind of taken to the place…….it has a certain personality that hasn't been present in Bay Park before….

While having a Painted Lady from the Good Beer Company I asked about turnover…it seemed that even though there were only 8 pulls, the selection was different on every visit. The really friendly guy behind the bar named Juan told me they are able to get Quarter Barrels which really enhances the turnover. He also pointed to the area to the right and said at least eight more pulls will go in easily.

They've also got an interesting "list" of bottles bought from collectors that you can ask for……..

It's all those little inside things about beer culture; the bottle trading and such…they've kind of got it covered. I like the folks that work here….very mellow, super chill…perhaps they'll go with a cheese plate and some charcuterie here some day; nothing that needs a full kitchen and keep the food trucks and the bring your own grinds concept. I hope they do well…..

Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110

Xi’an Kitchen Revisited

February 1, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Xi'an Kitchen has closed

Recently, I was looking at my post on Tong Sheng Xiang (同盛祥) during our trip to Xi'an. Which had me wondering how Xi'an Kitchen was doing. During my earlier visits, the service was borderline abysmal…..well, kind of like the norm for some of those places in the SGV. My coworker Calvin is game for everything. I know he loves lamb, but his wife just can't stand the smell….so I thought he'd like to join me.

While the service is still somewhat perfunctory, things have calmed down a bit here. The food came out quickly…perhaps a bit too quickly in the case of the Green Beans, which hadn't been cooked the way I prefer.

Undercooked, underflavored….mediocre.

When I mentioned Zhajiangmian to Calvin, he didn't know the dish originated in China…Beijing, he's only had Korean Jajangmyeon. This from a kid raised right around the block from 101 Noodle Express. So I had to order it.

Not impressed with the handmade noodles, it had some pull, but the texture just didn't do it for me. The noodles weren't drained well either. Hard to believe these were hand made. Not enough pork and bean paste sauce, but the flavor of the sauce provided was fine. It was served the classic way with shredded cucumber and bean sprouts.

Calvin loved the Yang Rou Pao Mo.

The bread is still all wrong; but the broth is quite tasty; gamey, with the flavor of the pasture I enjoy. Calvin absolutely loved this, he basically licked the bowl dry……he especially enjoyed the thickness and tongue feel of the broth and the gamey flavor. Now you see why he's always welcome to eat with me.

The Rou Jia Mo was too cold to enjoy.

There was a bit more filling than I recalled, though the pork….much like pulled pork was less fatty than I remembered. We split one, then took the other one back for "YZ"….who got a kick that I took Calvin to Xi'an Kitchen.

It's nice we're starting to get a better representation of regional Chinese cuisine than second rate Sichuan, Hot Pot, or lousy dim sum. I'm hoping that things keep getting better.

Xi’an Kitchen
4690 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Noodling Around: Tim Ky versus Minh Ky

January 31, 2016 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Man, it's really blowing outside. Cathy sent me a message saying the power out in her part of San Diego. I hope everyone is keeping warm and out of the wind!

Two weekends ago, I went up to Mira Mesa to get a haircut. I'll usually hit up a place for breakfast before my haircut; Pho Cow Cali or Pho Lucky. This time around I thought it was time for a revisit to Tim Ky which I thought was pretty good when I first visited, but was quite pedestrian on my last visit. It was fairly early, so just simple won ton and dumpling egg noodle for me.

This was pretty good, Better than what I had the last time around. The broth was light, pork-chicken, with just a touch of oil, savory, and not overly salty this time around. The charsiu was on the bland side and the two won tons were on the tough side, the 4 dumplings were also kind of chewy. The egg noodles were quite nice, good chew. Nice and simple, a nice breakfast. This got me wondering if this might be better than the version at Minh Ky.

Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

So yesterday, before the storm moved in; under the overcast sky, I headed up to Minh Ky.

And while I usually order the Beef Sate Noodle – Dry here; I went with the won ton and dumpling egg noodle soup. Which, while packed with stuff, looked quite light.

The differences were quite striking. The egg noodles here were not quite as yellow as the version at TimKy and also thinner. It was also nice and al dente, the noodles probably went to MK as did the charsiu, the dumplings, and the won tons which were much more tender that I ever recalled having here. Perhaps getting here before the crowds descend (0830) makes a difference?

I think the broth at Tim Ky was slightly better, mainly due to the richness, but overall, I still think Minh Ky is better overall.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

It was fun doing a nice simple comparison which started with going to my haircut appointment. My hair didn't fare so well. The guy who's been cutting my hair for ages; I'd followed him all over the place, Mission Valley to Serra Mesa to El Cajon to College to his uncles house (during a bad spell he was pretty much homeless) to Rolando, to Oceanside, then most recently Mira Mesa. Unfortunately, he had just quit the day before….and I needed to get my hair cut, so I had one of the other guys cut it…..so I now have quite the buzz. The Missus gasped when I got back home….but hey, it's hair, it'll grow back. One of the guys at work asked me why I just didn't shave my head…..looking at him (balding), I just said, "hey, I get to prove that I actually have hair…."

Madrid: Maestro Churrero, Buen Retiro Park, Buying Jamon at Ferpal, and Lunch at La Posada de la Villa

January 30, 2016 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Madrid, Spain, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

We really hadn't planned on getting Chocolate con Churros, even though it's a favorite breakfast for many. I'm just not a big fan of Churros….as we know it in SoCal. But Emilio, one of the owners of the apartment we were staying in really said that we should try the Chocolate con Churros (for some reason folks tend to call it Churros con Chocolate) at Maestro Churrero in Plaza de Jacinto Benavente, which was quite close to the apartment. So on our last morning in Madrid we headed over. We cracked up when we found the place; we'd passed it once at least everyday we were in Madrid. It really looked like some fast-food joint.

So, how did we like it? Well, the churros weren't overly sweet, but crisp, light, and reminded the Missus of youtiao for some reason. The chocolate was thick like pudding and not overly sweet either. The Missus enjoyed it much more than I did, so I'm thinking we may have this again if we're back in Spain.

Maestro Churrero Cafeteria Churreria
Plaza De Jacinto Benavente 2
Madrid, Spain

After this we headed back to Puerta del Sol. While the Missus loves the Tio Pepe sign, my favorite landmark is the Bear and The Madrono Tree, which is the National Coat of Arms of Madrid.

While the sun was shining brightly, the temperature was still fairly mild, so we headed down Calle de Alcala……

Here you can see the top of the Metropolis Building, a landmark on longest and one of the oldest streets in Madrid.

We walked to Puerta de Alcala…..

Then right into Retiro Park, a very nice green area that was once the lair of the Monarchy in Spain.

There are gardens, sculptures, galleries, and a lake…..called "Estanque del Retiro", Retiro Pond, which is does not resemble any "pond" I can think of.

The grand structure you see in the photo is the Monument to Alfonso XII.

After a nice stroll in the park we headed up Calle de las Huertas, then, somehow ended up on Calle Concepcion de Jeronima…and the intersection of Jeronima and Calle Toledo. The Missus immediately recognized the shop on the corner Calzados Lobo. this store specializes in espradilles; shoes and sandals and has been around since 1897. The Missus suddenly just "needed" some sandals. Though it looked pretty mellow from the exterior, it was packed……

I just tried to stay out of the way and hide in a corner while the Missus went about things.

Actually, the guy that helped the Missus was a total pro; the Missus told him Her size…..metric of course, which he brought, in addition to a size smaller, which he thought would fit Her better and did.

The Missus was quite happy, until She came upon Casa Hernanz….which claims to have been in business since 1845….check out the line.

Talk about buyers remorse. I didn't feel so bad though, as I really didn't want to stand in this line. As we walked around the streets near Puerta del Sol, the Missus reminded me of how boring my tastes are in clothes….so I ended up buying some bright, bright, blue loafers….I was actually going for the red; but even the Missus backed down on those.

We had a flight the next morning and started thinking about having something to snack on….and Ferpal, which we'd visited earlier came to mind. So we stood in line…..

And got some of the Jamon Iberico Pata Negra; the top of the line Jamon……as you'll see in a later post, even at 160 euros a kilo, this was worth much, much more…..

It was getting close to 1pm….early for lunch by Madrileno standards, but we were hungry. Emilio had recommended trying La Posada de la Villa, which, for some reason we had never seen during our visits to Calle Cava Baja.

This restaurant, built on the site of an inn which dates back to 1642 is full of character. From the somewhat formal, though still relaxed service, to the chairs, which have the names of famous customers carved in them.

Want to know who this dude was? Well you can find out here…… there's even some scandal involved!

The meal started rather inauspiciously. The croquettas didn't impress. The Revuelto de Esparragos was nice, the eggs fluffy, but the dish wasn't anything special.

The mushrooms were nice, the portion size amazingly large.

But it was the Callos Madrilenos, tripe stewed in the style of Madrid that really got us. The "stew" was thick and just coated your belly, rich and slightly gelatinous.

06072015 2204 The texture of the tripe was perfect; not too chewy, but toothsome; the morcilla was fine, nothing special, but it just fit well in the dish. This was a nice, hearty dish. and while we were a bit afraid that the place would be a tourist trap, it was not. In fact, if we're ever in Madrid during the winter season, we might just stop in for the house specialty; the roasted kid lamb for two!

Posada de la Villa
Calle de la Cava Baja 9
Nadrid, Spain