mmm-yoso – Page 85

What’s the Missus Craving? The Salted Fish and Chicken with Eggplant from Noble Chef

July 27, 2022 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, yoso-silly

Yes, yet another Noble Chef post. But man, since our dine in visit last month, She has been wanting the Salted Fish and Chicken with Eggplant sometimes twice a week!

For some reason, the last couple of visits, the dish has been spot on…..compare this with older photos.

NC Salted Fish Eggplant 01

Of course, I only get a taste; but the funky-salty tones, along with the buttery eggplant….well that's a match made in heaven. At least for the Missus.

The two guys who work here already know my order as I walk in the front door!

The Noble Chef
6159 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92111

One quick note – as of August 1st, the Noble Chef will be closing on Tuesdays.

And in case you (might) want a laugh on this Wednesday:

Every once in a while I'll overhear something funny or just see something unfolding. I usually use the self checkout, but on this day I had a bunch of produce and doing that can be a pain in the self check-out so I went to the regular cashier line.

The creepy young man in the front of me kept trying to pick-up the cashier who was obviously not interested.

Finally, after paying he went for the "Hail Mary" and told the young lady: "You know, when I look in the mirror…I see a 10….a ten-point-oh…..a perfect ten!"

Yikes, what a creep. The young lady just ignored him and he went on his way.

After having my stuff ringed up and bagging my groceries…well, I just couldn't help myself and said: "You know that what the dude is seeing in the mirror is actually a reflection of 0.01, right?"

The young lady cracked up.

Hope you're having a great week!

And….just 'cuz I'm interested, have you been craving anything recently?

Roadtrip (2022) – Ragamuffin Coffee (Oxnard), Ojai Certified Farmers Market (Ojai), Olive Hill Farm, and Lunch at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe (Los Olivos)

July 26, 2022 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Caffeine Fix, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel, Ventura County

Whew, ever sine we got back from Ojai, the Missus has been wanting the amazing produce we got from the Ojai Certified Farmers Market. In addition, there was a place I'd been eyeing out to try in Santa Barbara county. So, we planned a overnight road trip to hit up some favorites, old and new, then grab dinner, and as it would turn out lunch from what is a new favorite of ours.

We first drove up to Ventura County and stopped at a place I've posted on twice before; Ragamuffin Coffee.

I needed a caffeine boost for all the driving and the Missus wanted some natural process beans.

Just what I needed.

Ragamuffin Coffee Roasters
550 Collection Blvd. (In the Annex Food Hall)
Oxnard, CA 93036

Next up a quick drive up to Ojai to the Farmer's Market.

We got three baskets of tomatoes from this stand…..last time we chowed it all down before we left town!

More broccolini.

And some eggs…..which are so good.

The Missus eyed some nectarines from this stand.

And ended up buying a half dozen….

And She's already has me planning our next trip up!

Ojai Certified Farmers Market
300 E Matilija St.
Ojai, CA 93023

I then made the 90 minutes drive to Los Olivos. We'd be having dinner and spending the evening in Los Alamos (California, not NM) and our room wouldn't be ready for a while; so I thought a stop in Los Olivos would be nice.

We stopped in at our favorite Olive Oil stop during our last visit here Olive Hill Farm.

We did a light tasting and the wonderful, no-nonsense young lady working was amazing with spot on flavor profiles.

We ended up getting a bottle of the Lucca.

Olive Hill Farm
2901 Grand Ave
Los Olivos, CA 93441

I'm thinking that we have a pretty large collection of Olive Oil right now…maybe I should do a tasting post. What do you think?

It was around time for lunch, so we took a look at a couple of places. Unfortunately, even thought the Fess Parking Inn is still there.

The restaurant we enjoyed in the Inn, the Bear and Star has been replaced.

So, we took a look across the street and decided to have lunch at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe.

Along with the outdoor dining, there was a wind shop, bar, and restaurant.

The Missus had seen a salad being brought to one of the tables when we walked pass, which is how we decided on this place.

It was the Grilled Romaine Wedge.

I will often grill romaine or cabbage these days which the Missus enjoys, so this was a no-brainer for Her. She enjoyed the bacon and gorgonzola, and the salad wasn't over-dressed.

I looked over the daily specials menu. It was pretty hot, so I decided to order a bowl of the Japanese Cucumber Gazpacho.

While I would have preferred this a bit smoother with more of the vegetal "chorophyllic" cucumber flavors, it was quite refreshing with a clean finish.

I also ordered the Zucchini Sticks.

While some of the pieces of zucchini were under cooked and too hard for my taste, there were a couple that were nice and creamy. These were nicely seasoned and not overly salty.

This was a decent lunch, though nothing special; the staff was quite busy, but were professional and doing their best.

Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe
2879 Grand Ave.
Los Olivos, CA 93441

As we strolled on over to our car, the Missus and I remarked about how much we enjoyed the vibe of Los Olivos. We just wished there were better accommodations (like under $400/night) and perhaps a nice destination restaurant.

It was a nice visit though….and it had been almost five years since we were last here!

We got back to the car and headed off…..Los Alamos beckoned.

Dining In at Golden City

July 22, 2022 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Golden City has closed

Calvin recently told me that he wanted to grab some lunch….not meet outdoors for a lunch to go; but actually dine in. Of course we’d take precautions; masks, tests, and eat during the middle of the week at 11am. As for what he wanted? He was craving Golden City, which used to be a pretty regular stop for us when our offices were located in Kearney Mesa. It was interesting…….even though I’ve done takeout from Golden City during the pandemic, the last time I actually ate in the restaurant was with Calvin at the beginning of 2019! Over 3 1/2 years ago!

So, I arrived and waited a minute or so before Calvin got there. We were the first and other than one other group that arrived about 20 minutes into our meal, the only folks dining. There was a steady flow of takeout business though.

GC In 01

Based on my last takeout post on Golden City a month ago, you might be asking if I’m just a glutton for punishment. Still, I did want to see if the Kwai Fei Chicken was goin to be better then what I’d last gotten for takeout.

So, of course we ordered that, plus two items from the lunch specials menu.

Since we had ordered the two lunch specials soup was included. Both Calvin and I got the hot and sour soup.

GC In 02

Which was really bad. Look at that color; it was so thick like glue, you could smell the vinegar smell from a distance. Both Calvin and I took one sip and were done.

This did not bode well for the meal; but things turned around quickly once the Kwai Fei Chicken arrived.

GC In 03 GC In 04 Take a look at the color of the ginger-scallion sauce to the right and compare it to what I had gotten on my last takeout visit. This had the perfect amount of ginger, tasted crisp, and was perfect. Versus the browning, rancid flavored stuff I’d had last time.

The chicken, while still not as flavorful as it was when I used to get it at the old Convoy location; this was super moist and tender. Which made me wonder; Kwai Fei Ji should travel well, its served at room temperature or colder so I don’t think this would be a takeout versus dining in issue. Perhaps the “B” team was on during my last visit?

Speaking of “B” team, look at the rice we were served.

GC In 05

Can you see the hard clump? And the uneven cooking?

I had forgotten that Calvin doesn’t care for eggplant, so we ended up getting the Salted Fish and Chicken with Tofu instead of eggplant.

GC In 06

In spite of needing some “color” other than greyish-white….the presentation looked awful, this was decent if not quite up to the versions at Noble Chef in terms of funky-salty tones from the salted fish. The tofu was soft and tender as were the pieces of chicken, the dish wasn’t over salty.

Calvin enjoys eating with me because he can get dishes that his Missus won’t eat….or even allow in the house for that matter! We got the Crispy Pork Intestines.

GC In 07

This had a decent offal-ly flavor if a bit on the sweet side. The sweetness nullified any of the salty-earthiness that the fermented black bean would contribute. The intestines were hard and chewy instead of crisp and the “sauce” was a bit too “gloppy” and clumpy.

Still, the Kwai Fei Chicken was better than any version I’ve had in recent memory. Which, on this day was good enough for me.

GC In 08

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

Mexico City (2022) – Museo Frida Kahlo and Lunch at Tostadas Coyoacan

July 21, 2022 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Mexico, Mexico City, Travel

After a thoroughly enjoyable caffeine stop, we headed to Museo Frida Kahlo.

It was a nice stroll ad a line soon formed outside "La Casa Azul", the house where Frida Kahlo was born and where she lived with her husband Diego Rivera. We had gotten tickets online which was a good move as folks who came without tickets were out of luck for the day.

I've read that Frida Kahlo produced only about 200 paintings during her lifetime. But it is both her work, some of which are dark, emotional, surreal, and project the constant pain she was in after first contracting polio when she was 6, which caused her right leg to be shorter than her left and then the bus accident when she was 18 when the bus she was riding in hit a trolley causing a metal handrail to impale her. And her somewhat tumultuous marriages to Diego Rivera (they were married twice and Diego had an affair with Frida's younger sister!).

Of her paintings 55 were self portraits.

One of Frida Kahlo's most well known quotes:

"My painting carries with it the message of pain.”

The upstairs portion are fascinating to many as it has her bedroom and studio….where you can see her wheelchair stationed at the easel she used.

And the bedroom and bed where she spent so much time recovering from the accident and then her last years when she was in declining health.

For us, it was the medical portion and the corsets that Frida had to wear that really made an impact.

It really brought home the pain and suffering of Frida.

Walking in the garden area, I was struck by the displays of the tumultuous life of the artist, with the wonderful peaceful tranquility of the garden.

Which I guess just hits home the complexity of the duality of life……

Museo Frida Kahlo is well worth the time.

Frida Kahlo Museum
Londres 247
Coyoacán, 04100 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico

For lunch we headed back down Ignacio Allende to Mercado Coyoacan.

Where it seems that you could get every kind of trinket you could possibly want!

IMG_1651_02

The interior though, was a hustling and bustling market.

I had recommendations and read quite a bit about Tostadas Coyoacan which is located in the Market, so we found the bustling stand.

We ordered three Tostadas which arrived in minutes. Man, they've got quite the system going.

The amount of protein piled on the tostadas is quite admirable for the price.

The best of the bunch was the Camarones which had a nice balance of sour to salt and the shrimp were tender. The chicken in the Pollo Mole was quite tough and dry; the mole really weak in flavor. The pork in the Cochinita was tender, but was quite weak in terms of flavor from the typical aromatics (i.e. oregano/cinnamon/cumin).

Still, the most expensive tostada was the camarones which is about $2.50/US, the other two are about a buck-fifty; so I wasn't going to whine too much about this meal.

Tostadas Coyoacán (In Mercado de Coyoacán)
Ignacio Allende No.49
Coyoacán, 04100 CDMX, Mexico

After lunch we crossed the street to Jardín Allende where there was an arts and crafts market.

We strolled around a bit before calling our Uber and heading back to our hotel.

Where a nice afternoon nap was awaiting us!

Thanks for stopping by!

The La Chorreada Taco Truck

July 20, 2022 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants

Earlier this year I noticed a new taco truck in the parking lot of V-Outlet.

La Chorreada 01 La Chorreada 02 On occasion I would take either my or the Missus's car to Victor's next door for a hand carwash, especially after roadtrips. So, during one of those sessions I decided to have some tacos while waiting for the Missus's car.

I liked the table set-up next to the truck; it was even better that I had the spot all to myself.

And even though taco prices have gone up a bit; it is still the most inexpensive non-chain option in the area, another plus. The woman working was very gracious and I placed my order.

I know most folks would have done the carne asada or carnitas….but it had been a while since I'd had some nice street tacos, so I went with the Lengua and the Cabeza tacos.

La Chorreada 03 La Chorreada 04
There were several things I immediately liked….the sautéed onions on the side. I'm thinking that Covid precautions meant that the salsa; in this case a salsa verde is served in a container on the side.

I really enjoyed the lengua, which was quite tender, very beefy, the guacamole added a nice rich creaminess to the tacos. The corn tortillas were adequate for the task; having a nice maize flavor and being a sturdy vessel for the fillings.

The Cabeza was decent, a bit tougher than I prefer, but quite beefy over all.

La Chorreada 05

Overall, this was a nice change of pace for the neighborhood and I enjoyed it!

So, after our last roadtrip, I decided to bring my car in for a wash and of course I strolled over to La Chorreada to grab some lunch while I was waiting.

La Chorreada 06 La Chorreada 06b Again I was the only customer and even though it was just 1045 in the morning I was the only customer, which made me a bit concerned about sustaining business.

I placed my order and had a seat at the table to wait for my order. For some reason, I was entertained by the cover as it would rise with the wind, creating a "groovy" wave of sorts….

On this visit I got the buche, adobada, and chorizo con nopales. Three tacos, for $7.50 without tax.

La Chorreada 07 La Chorreada 08 I should have known better, but perhaps I was missing CDMX, the adobada obviously was not on the trompo and was really mild. The buche was interesting, enjoyable texture, decent offaly flavor, and did really well with a squeeze of lime and the guacamole.

La Chorreada 09 I enjoyed the textural contrast of the Chorizo with Nopales….but of course I enjoy the supposed "mucilaginous" texture. I do think I'd enjoy a more assertive flavor component.

La Chorreada 10

It's hard to be negative about paying $7.50 for lunch these days, so I'm going to leave it at that.

I'm happy to have the La Chorreada truck in the neighborhood as it gives me an option to the usual chain or corporate style food that is prevalent here. La Chorreada 11

The Tacos La Chorreada Truck (In the Parking Lot of V-Outlet)
3030 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Takeout From Zab Linda

July 18, 2022 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

If you read my post on the Linda Vista Farmers Market, you know that I did takeout from Zab Linda.

Zab 01

I'd read that the staff at both the front of house and the kitchen were retained from TOSEL. Well, unlike my takeout visits from TOSEL, I didn't recognize anyone working. Of course this was pretty much all of the restaurant I saw. The menu however, at least to me looked the same as SEL.

Zab 02

I placed my order and went to check out the farmers market. My order was ready when I returned and I headed off home.

For this visit; I went with the Yum Neua, Som Tom Lao, and Issan Sausage. It was a pretty warm day and this sounded perfect.

The Yum Nuea was definitely not quite what it used to be. While the heat level at a "4" was quite spicy, it lacked good sour tones.

Zab 03 Zab 04 I'm used to toothsome beef in yum neua, but this was particularly tough. It also hadn't spend enough time in the sauce. Yes, this was spicy; but where were all the other flavors that make a good beef salad……lemongrass, shallot, enough fish sauce? Maybe I should have gone with the duck larb or nahm tok, but my strategy on this day was to start with the basics.

Like the Lao Style Papaya Salad; which was indeed a solid-spicy "5" on the heat scale.

Zab 05 Zab 06 Man, my tolerance is getting low in my old age. Like the beef salad, we felt this was off in terms of flavor. It lacked the funky fermented tones of a good Lao Papaya Salad. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't what we recalled was made by the Sab E Lee of our memory.

The one dish that was exactly like we recalled was the Issan Sausage.

Zab 07 Zab 08 Except I'm wondering what the deal is with the Sriracha? No way I'd add that to the sausage; it would ruin the flavor. This was solid and we enjoyed it. It had always been a favorite in the "old days" and even though this version has been surpassed by others in recent years, it's still decent.

Maybe our tastebuds were colored by nostalgia, I won't start whining about how much we miss "the original" Original Sab E Lee or how much the Missus misses the Som Tom Khai Kem and other dishes from Thai Papaya……or even the Salted Fish Fried Rice from TOSEL.

With the weather warming up, I'm going to have to do my rounds and hit up TOSEL PQ and Santee….and some other places. And then return to Zab Linda to see how things are then.

Zab 09

Zab Linda
6952 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 330pm, 430pm – 9pm
Sat Sun 11am – 9pm

Roadtrip (2022) – A Walk Around Downtown and Dinner at Nocciola (Ojai)

July 17, 2022 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Italian Restaurants, Road Trip, Travel, Ventura County

We took a short nap after our busy morning. It was quite warm when we woke. The Missus was fully engrossed in the book She purchased from Bart's Books the previous day. So, while She relaxed in the air conditioned comfort of our room; I decided to head on out for another walk.

This time, I walked on over to the Arcade and walked thru the the middle portion.

It was quite charming with art work and friendly folks.

There is a distinctive vibe to the town. It's laid back, and drivers actually stop to let pedestrians cross the street. Folks were telling me hello as I walked past them.

I wish I took photos of all the pooches we met. There was one little fellow being transported in a "stroller"; he looked so cool with his shades and his hat on. On the previous evening we were walking back to the hotel and a woman and her pooch we had seen earlier were walking toward us. She put the leash down and went to adjust her jacket. And then totally forgot to pick up the leash and started crossing the street without her dog! The dog sat on the corner with a puzzled look. Such a good boy!

You could just see the thoughts racing thru the little fellows head:

"Huh? Am I an orphan now?"

"Why is my mommy walking away without me?"

"I'm being a good boy; is my mommy going to come back for me?"

As the woman walked toward us, I pointed to the pooch on the corner and told her:

"You forgot something…."

She turned around, cracked up, and jogged back to get her little one…..

I walked around the front of the Arcade and crossed to street to check out Libbey Park.

It was a nice albeit pretty warm day. I also noticed that there were many more cars around, nice cars, like Porsches, 'Vettes, and such.

The next day was going to be the 4th of July and Ojai has a bunch of events the most popular is the parade which goes down the main street. People claim "their spot" by setting up chairs on the sidewalk.

There were chairs set-up from when we arrived!

Spending more then one day in a town like Ojai means you start seeing interesting touches around the town.

I headed back to the hotel, relaxed for a bit then we headed out to dinner. Our dinner destination was about a mile and a quarter from where we were staying, which was a nice walk. We reached Nocciola a bit early so we took a look at the park across the street. Cluff Vista Park was once the site of a gas station, but had been converted into a nice little park.

Our dinner reservation was for Nocciola, a Italian influenced restaurant located in a Victorian House. We had reservations for patio dining; the tables were perfectly spaced, the service was very professional, and we enjoyed our meal.

For our meal we ordered one Insalate, two Antipasti, and one Secondi. We mentioned that we'd be dining "family style" and things started off nicely as the kitchen automatically split the Crescione ($19), the Watercress salad without us even having to ask.

Loved the pleasant bitterness of the watercress, the salty-milky Parmesan crisp, the hearts of palm, and were pleasantly surprised that avocado tastes quite nice with a bit of balsamic on it.

The Olive Oil served with the breads was wonderful; peppery and grassy, just like how we like it.

The Missus also had Her favorite glass of wine on this trip; a Alisl Vineyard Grenache. In fact, we went looking for this bottle on the walk back to our room, stopping at several places, but to no avail.

I was really looking forward to our next dish; the Lamb Carpaccio ($21). Sadly, it was the weakest dish of the evening. It really needed more salt, was lacking in the "flavor of the pasture" which makes lamb so distinctive. It was just strangely bland in flavor so that the julienned celery just overpowered the dish.

The Quaglia ($26), roasted quail set things back on track.

The quail was tender, moist, and full of flavor. The porcini mushroom so wonderfully earthy and delish. The polenta had a wonderful texture, somewhat firm, but creamy. The Marsala sauce completed all the players and didn't over power the dish. Very good.

The Anatra ($42) was also delicious.

That confit duck leg was excellent, the skin crisp, the simple flavor of the duck shining thru…..the Missus gave it Her seal of approval by saying "this is a good as yours"! I thought the roasted breast was a bit over done, but it was still moist and tender, with a meaty-gaminess. The truffle honey glaze was nicely balanced, not overly sweet, with nice nutty-earthy-savory tones.

We really enjoyed this meal. Like I mentioned earlier, the service was efficient and processional. Our settings were changed between every course, the table scraped down between courses.

Nocciola
314 El Paseo Rd.
Ojai, CA 93023

It seems like our meals got steadily better each night we were here!

We enjoyed our stroll back to the room as we made several stops to do some wine shopping along the way.

The next day we packed up, while we liked the fact that Ojai had a great Fourth of July Parade and festivities, we weren't comfortable with the crowds. We got our caffeine fix at a familiar stop and headed on home. It had been a nice road trip and I'm sure we'll return to Ojai one day.

Roadtrip (2022) – Luci’s Trail, Ojai Coffee Roasters, Ojai Certified Farmers Market, Ojai Olive Oil, and Rainbow Bridge Natural Food

July 16, 2022 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, Travel, Ventura County

Our last full day in Ojai was going to be pretty full. Even though we did some hikes the previous day, the Missus still wanted to do another hike. So, we got up early and headed over to the Valley View Preserve and did Luci's Trail. The Missus loves hills…..not switchbacks mind you, but just heading uphill. Luci's Trail wasn't very long and didn't have a zillion switchbacks and the view was quite lovely.

The mist was still rising when we started.

But soon enough we rose above it.

And we enjoyed the view.

The trail is short enough….it took us just a tad over an hour to complete.

After which we headed into town and stopped for our caffeine fix at Ojai Coffee Roasters.

Nice people here; the Missus enjoyed Her pour over and I my cold brew.

Ojai Coffee Roasters
337 E Ojai Ave.
Ojai, CA 93023

It was still fairly early, so we took our coffee back to the Hummingbird Inn, freshened up, then sat in the front yard and enjoyed our coffee.

As a bonus, folks were bringing out their pooches for morning walks around the property which is super dog friendly. Got to meet a sweet Black Lab named Midnight…..I shoulda taken a photo, but was just having so much fun.

After our "coffee time" we headed back into town and went to visit the Ojai Certified Farmers Market. We both loved this farmers market….so much produce! I stopped counting at 20 produce booths!

I didn't take too many photos because we were just having a great time. We did buy some amazing tomatoes which we'd have for lunch. And since we'd be heading home the next morning and had a fridge we also bought some wonderful looking tomatoes and broccolini.

Ojai Certified Farmers Market
300 E Matilija St.
Ojai, CA 93023

Sundays 9am – 1pm

Here's what I made with the broccolini.

Topped with a couple of poached eggs and some truffle….man this was good!

After wandering thru the Farmers Market we walked back to the car and headed to our next destination. Ojai Olive Oil has a booth in the Farmers Market, but we wanted to a a tasting of a full range of their products. So, we headed off to their farm and tasting room. I had read that finding the farm was slightly confusing, so we followed the instructions on their site and found the tasting room with no problems.

Tastings were $10 per person. And you get as many of all the various olive oils and vinegars. You get a small container to hold the tiny cups and a bag of bread as well.

The cups are labelled so you know what you're tasting.

We were told that we could have as many tastings as we wanted and should not overfill the cups. I laughed and told the friendly woman about our our olive oil tasting in Crete and that we understood.

We sat outside and went thru our tasting.

After which we made some decisions and strolled back to the tasting room.

While we do prefer the stuff Pasolivo and even Temecula Olive Oil, we settled got bottles of the Tuscan, the Andalucian, and some Lemon Infused Olive Oils.

Ojai Olive Oil Tasting Room
1811 Ladera Rd.
Ojai, CA 93023
Hours:
Daily 10am – 4pm

On the way back to the hotel we decided to stop and pick up something for a light lunch. We had liked how some of the item looked in the deli of Rainbow Bridge Natural Food, so we decided to pop in and get a couple of items.

Which we took back and ate in the wonderful front yard of our accommodation along with some of those wonderful tomatoes.

The Missus especially liked the cauliflower and this did the trick of holding us until dinner.

Rainbow Bridge Natural Food
211 E Matilija St.
Ojai, CA 93023

It was now time for a short nap in the air-conditioned comfort of our room…..

And then it would be dinner time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Scenes From the Linda Vista Farmers Market

July 14, 2022 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market

So, I went to do a quick takeout visit to Zab Linda (post upcoming) and was quite surprised when I got to Linda Vista Plaza! There was a Farmers Market. Now, I had visited the former Farmers Market in that location, which I believed stopped doing business in 2019 and hadn't heard a word about their reopening.

So, I went and placed my order at Zab and then decided to check out what was going on in the Farmers Market. It was 245pm and the place was pretty empty.

LV FM 01

With only a couple of produce stands, which didn't have too much on offer it seems.

LV FM 03

There seemed to be more craft stands then anything else.

LV FM 05

And then about two-thirds way down the booths I saw this sign……

LV FM 06

So, when I got home, I did a search and came up with the website for this Farmers Market which is put on by a non-profit named Love, Linda Vista, which restarted the Farmers Market in June of this year. Kudos to them!

There were a nice variety of food stands.

LV FM 07

Which I definitely would have checked out if I hadn't already placed an order at Zab Linda, Rollin' Roots was just "rollin" into the parking lot as I left.

I'm hoping they do well and get more vendors. You can find the vendor list here.

LV FM 10

6939 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours
Thursdays 2pm – 7pm

Wednesday Walk – A Revisit to the Congress Cafe (Encuentro Cafe) and Visiting Heritage Park

July 13, 2022 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Exploring San Diego, Venezuelan Food and Restaurants, yoso-silly

**** Not much food in this post, just a revisit and a quick visit to Heritage Park

Over the pandemic it seems that I've been spending much more time in the Old Town area, exploring various sights, and sometimes grabbing something for breakfast before checking things out. In my opinion, things are kind of getting better for locals in Old Town, be it ever so humble.

On occasion I will grab a coffee from one of my three neighborhood coffee spots, then head on over to Old Town; there's always parking early in the morning, where I'll pick up an arepa from the Congress Cafe. Then walk on over to what has become one of my favorite spots; Heritage Park where I'll head up the drive and sit near the Coral Tree…..

Across the wonderful green open space, amongst the beautiful Victorian structures that were moved here. That's the Christian House below.

I'll have my arepa; usually the Pabellon on the bench along with my caffeine fix for the day.

I must say that that the Congress Cafe has been getting the fillings into a more harmonic balance for my taste. The nicely seasoned beef, the earthy black beans, the slightly milky cheese, and the sweet and starchy plantains. Yes, it's a calorie bomb; but heck, it's nice every once in a while. Plus, the staff at the Congress Cafe are so nice and welcoming.

**** Congress Cafe in now Encuentro Cafe – Same Owners/Menu. You can read an updated post here.

The Congress Cafe
3941 Mason St.
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon – Fri 8am – 2pm
Sat – Sun 8am – 3pm

For some reason, maybe word hasn't gotten out, Heritage Park is almost always empty when I visit. Once in a while I'll see dogs frolicking in the grass area, or perhaps a wedding rehearsal going on in the Temple Beth Israel.

Which was San Diego’s first synagogue. This is one of the two structures on site whose interior has been restored. The other being the Senlis Cottage.

I found something interesting stated on the sign in front of the building.

Stating that the temple also "became temporary quarters for many religious groups before establishing churches of their own." I went and took a look at the wonderful Heritage Park Tour Guide on the SOHO site and found this excerpt:

"Over time, the temple was used by other faiths, including the Biblical Institute of Spiritualism, the Volunteers of America Mission, and the Fraternal Spiritualist Church."

Which I found inspiring in light the divisive times we live in. If they could do it……..

You can read about the other structures and the history in SOHO's Heritage Park Cultural Tour Guide.

Some of the other structures.

Senlis Cottage.

The very distinctive Sherman-Gilbert House.

The Bushyhead House.

The McConaughy House.

The Burton House.

All mine for the price of an arepa.

Though on occasion I've brought a banh mi and/or cha gio here. And after Barrio Donas opens in Old Town….well, I'll have a bit more variety for my Old Town breakfasts.

Thanks so much for stopping by!