Bakery – mmm-yoso

Relic Bakery & Kitchen

January 28, 2026 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants

I first heard about Relic Bageri back in early 2024 at their weekends only location in a commercial kitchen on Commerce Avenue. They started doing preorders, but that just wasn’t my thing. I did try to visit, but the lines were crazy. Now you just know that a place so successful was going to grow, right? And finally, in October of last year they opened a brick and mortar shop in East Village.

With all our road trips, I waited a bit to finally visit the shop in East Village. The area seems a bit sketchy, but heck, SDPD HQ is there and there always seems to be parking available.

It’s a nice looking shop, in a sort of transitional area.

Anyway, it wasn’t overly busy on this day and I strolled on in.

Lots of pastries to tempt you…and the price point is lower than Izola!

The same really nice young lady was working on each of my visits.

There’s both indoor and outdoor dining available, a coffee stand, and breakfast and lunch is served. But you know I was really only interested in one thing at the moment, right?

So, I got myself a Butter Croissant, which was $5. And a couple other savory stuffs.

As for the croissant aux buerre……I like the lamination, nice and flakey, good, light, fluffy and airy interior.

In terms of flavor; it’s got a lighter butteriness than I prefer, and perhaps a bit too much salt for our tastes. Still, not overly sweet, nice texture, not over baked as many versions.

As for the rest; well I just had to get this beast.

This is the Chinese Five Spice Sausage Croissant. Well, let me tell you, this is pretty huge.

Nice porky flavor, good, not overpowering anise tones. There’s a bit of herbaceousness and the size and texture reminds me of Lao/Thai sausages. And with a croissant wrapper around it?

Still, I really enjoyed the Jalapeno, Speck, and Cheese Croissant the most.

Love the tangy-sour spice of the pickled jalapenos, with the mildly smoky-savory speck, and the light milkiness of the cheese. If anything, I think a stronger cheese might be even better. Along with the crispness of the croissant, slight buttery-sweetness. There’s something about this combo I enjoyed.

The Missus tried all three and them asked me why I didn’t get anything for “Her”. So of course that issue had to be rectified.

I got the Double Pain au Chocolate which the Missus absolutely loved. And she enjoyed the texture of the Bear Claw, but it was too sweet for Her.

As for me…well, it was another Croissant aux Buerre. Now this one had a bit more butteriness and was still wonderfully light and fluffy. Except that it seemed to have been over baked and was too flakey…as in croissant laminate shrapnel everywhere.

Still, this might be my current favorite croissant aux buerre in San Diego. And of course, there’s a certain someone who was volunteering to “clean up” the fragments.

The Missus enjoyed the pain du chocolate so much that She sent me back on a Saturday to get more. This time, I decided to forgo the regular croissant…..

There was a line on this day and the dining area was almost full.

Still, the folks working have always been so pleasant.

So, this time around in addition to the Jalapeno, Speck, and Cheese Croissant – which I still really like and the Double Pain du Chocolate; I got a couple of others to try.

The Missus absolutely loves the “Mocha Bomb”.

I didn’t care for the Lamb Rillette Croissant.

The pastry itself had a really great texture, flakey and crisp, but the rillette was really chewy and it didn’t feature the typical aromatic-rich-gaminess that I associate with lamb rillette.

Still, we’ve enjoyed exploring various items from Relic. I have gone back 3 more times since this last visit. And the croissant aux buerre has been my favorite in SD so far…. It’s not perfectly to my taste….I’m thinknig a bit more butter but I’m not expecting say…what we get at La Maison d’Isabelle, our favorite boulangerie in Paris, which I’ve posted on like four times. But it has still been enjoyable. I need to revisit Wayfarer….or maybe do both in a side by side comparison, right? Meanwhile; the Missus has been craving that Mocha Bomb! And we need to check out the various kitchen offerings as well.

Relic Bakery & Kitchen
845 15th St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 8am – 2pm
Closed Monday – Tuesday

Road Trip – Lupulo and Revisiting The Buttery (Santa Cruz)

January 10, 2026 mmm-yoso Bakery, Beer, Croissants, Dog Friendly, Gastropub, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Road Trip, Travel

After a nice morning hike and a pork filled lunch we had ourselves a nice nap. Upon rising, we decided to head back to downtown Sant Cruz, where the Missus could get more shopping in. And then we’d find a place to have an early dinner.

Because the Missus didn’t feel comfortable among all the homeless in San Lorenzo Park, we walked over to the Soquel Avenue Bridge and crossed the river there.

Check out this truck and trailer crossing the bridge!

Right as we got to Pacific Avenue, one of the main streets in Downtown; the Missus saw this shop.

What else could I say other than “Ommmm on in”?

It was quite a “groovy” experience.

We wandered thru the side streets and alleyways. Check out the tea master at this Tea House.

We headed north to where Pacific Avenue meets Front Street and came to the Town Clock.

Which I later learned had quite an interesting story behind it. You can read about it here.

We then headed down Front Street.

Lined with shops, coffee places, and restaurants…..

And came across these Rockin’ Nana’s….man, they were really good! And much cooler than me!

Meanwhile, a street art thing was happening on the corner.

While walking thru one of the passageways, we came across this “groovy” tea shop/cafe. Named Roxa (and no my fellow Kama’aina’s it ain’t RockZa ok!) Hammock Cafe.

It sold tea and other herbal drinks and had actual hammocks spanning two floors! No, I didn’t feel comfortable taking photos since there were folks just having their teas and lounging on the hammocks. The Missus actually got some tea from here.

I could see why Santa Cruz played a big part in the “Summer of Love”. Some of it still lingers on….

We decided to get an early dinner. Of course the question was, where? I had heard about a nice Gastropub named Lupulo, that served up some decent brews and some “Latin” style dishes so we decided to walk on over and give it a try.

There was outdoor seating, which worked fine for JJ. I went in and ordered. The gentleman working was quite friendly.

The place was pretty busy as well…..

The menu was indeed Mexican/Latin based, I placed my order and had a nice Pliny while we waited for our order.

I loved the glasses here!

And we also enjoyed watching the customers……

As for food. Well, you know how the Missus loves Her meatballs, so I ordered the Albondigas.

The bread was meh……but those beef and pork meatballs were quite good. A bit dense, but you could tell there was pork there! The tomato “sofrito” was tangy, with nice garlic tones. This was fairly good.

I also ordered the Cochinita Pibil tacos….which was made from chicken rather than pork.

This was actually not bad at all. Nice tangy acidity, a bit on the chewier side, which is fine for tacos. Decent savory tones, really enjoyed the pickled onions. The tortillas were quite basic and routine, but not terrible. This was actually not bad and made for a pleasant meal.

Lupulo Craft Beer House
233 Cathcart St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

It had been an enjoyable day for us!

As for the next morning….well….you know we’d be back at the Buttery. And by this time…..well, JJ was now into full “croissant mode”!

And it was just as good as the day before if not better!

The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062

We really enjoyed Santa Cruz and can’t wait to return….with JJ of course!

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – The Buttery, Pipeline Road Trail, and Revisiting Special Noodle (Santa Cruz)

January 9, 2026 mmm-yoso Bakery, Chinese Restaurants, Croissants, Dog Friendly, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Road Trip, Travel

Upon waking on our full day in Santa Cruz, we decided to head up Soquel Avenue to a bakery I’d heard about. It was a short 10 minute walk from our hotel. Right past the Shopper’s Corner Market, was the Buttery.

The low key location had a nice outdoor area.

And the Missus watched JJ, while I went inside to get us some croissants and coffee.

There was no one in the queue when I entered and I was pleasantly surprised at the price of the plain croissants – $2.95.

So, I was ready to be underwhelmed at this croissant, but it was surprisingly good!

The exterior looked a bit overbaked, but the laminate was crisp, but not flaking to pieces. The ridges didn’t fall off either.

The interior was nicely honeycombed and fluffy. But most importantly, there was a decent amount of butteriness to this! Not bad at all! Better than what we’d had at Bouchon Bakery a few days previous!

I even gave JJ a taste and he went bonkers! Oh man, did I open up a can of worms here!

The Buttery
702 Soquel Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Of course we’d return the following morning….

And of course the Missus needed me to “burn off” those croissant calories, so we headed back to the hotel, then set out to Henry Crowell Redwoods State Park. Marissa, the lovely young lady at BPC had recommended the Pipeline Road Trail, though she told me that it was kind of long – 6 miles or so. The big plus being that it starts at the Park Office and that it is well paved and maintained. It is the only dog friendly trail in the park as well.

There a 900 foot elevation gain, but we really didn’t feel it.

There were some nice views.

And of course those lovely Redwoods……

And JJ handled it like a champ. Actually, you can tell by his expression that I’m the “weak link” here…..

It was on the “easy side” for the Missus and JJ, who did really well.

After heading back and freshening up, it was time for lunch. Well, since we had enjoyed our dinner the previous evening at Special Noodle and the Missus was still missing Chinese food we walked on back to the restaurant.

The gentleman from the previous evening remembered us and we were seated in the same area. He even made sure got chopsticks without asking this time!

We decided on some different dishes this time around; starting with the La Rou with Smoked Bamboo.

This usual Hunan style dish was a bit short on chilies and spiciness, but the bamboo was nice and crisp; though the pork was definitely like the stuff I can get at 99 Ranch Market. It was far from bland though with a good amount of soy and smokey tones.

The rice had obviously just been finished as it was steaming hot; but also a bit on the mushy side.

We also got the Braised Pork Belly – Hong Shao Rou, which turned out to be quite good!

Just tender enough, without being mushy, the porkiness came through nicely. Ginger – Soy tones came thru nicely, and more importantly for the Missus, this was much more savory than sweet.

After finishing this; we really needed a nap!

Special Noodle
415 Ocean St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

I guess this will be a regular stop when we’re in Santa Cruz!

Now it was nap time!

Road Trip – Sweetie Pies Bakery (Napa) and Special Noodle (Santa Cruz)

January 4, 2026 mmm-yoso Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Chinese Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Monterey/Carmel/Santa Cruz - Monterey Bay/Peninsula, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Travel

We had a great night of sleep at the Napa River Inn…and no, we didn’t have any “spooky” visitors as I had heard about earlier in the evening at The Fink. Before we left for our next destination, I decided to grab a quick Breakfast Sandwich from Sweetie Pies Bakery which is right next door to the hotel.

This place has quite a selection of treats for your sweet tooth. We had gotten a sample delivered to our room for breakfast the previous morning.

I ordered a Fried Egg Sandwich to take back to our room.

A basic toasted Ciabatta, with creamy avocado, and pesto.

The bacon was basically a single slice lining the middle of the sandwich, on the burnt side, and a single fried egg. Again only enough to cover two-thirds of the sandwich.

My guess is that “Sweetie” is mostly about the pies as the name indicates?

Sweetie Pies
520 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

After devouring the sandwich, we checked out and headed to our next destination; Santa Cruz. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to arrive at our accommodation, the Hotel Paradox. We were early for check-in so the hotel let us park and we went to explore Santa Cruz for a bit. The hotel was on the other side of the San Lorenzo River from downtown Santa Cruz and we were next to San Lorenzo Park. On the map, it looked like a nice “green space”. Unfortunately, it was taken over by the homeless population while we were in town. So, instead of having a nice green space for JJ to explore, well…..

We did think the Dragon Archway, which faces the last Chinatown in Santa Cruz across the river. And you can see the two folks hanging out under the archway as well. This made the Missus somewhat uncomfortable crossing the bridge at night. We ended up using the busier Laurel Street Bridge when it was dark.

Regardless, the Missus and I really enjoyed downtown Santa Cruz. It had a kind of Hipster-Artsy-Hippy-Surfer vibe to us. Very mellow and laid back; at least when we were there.

We dropped by Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting for our caffeine fix. It was recommended by one of JJ’s Bay Park Coffee “Aunties”, Marissa who used to work there and went to UCSC.

Cold Brew and Latte fortified we headed on to do some shopping.

Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting
1330 Pacific Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

The Missus loved wandering thru the “eclectic” shops.

And bought quite a few items during our stay.

It seems that tarot card reading, and various psychic readings are big business here.

My goodness, check out the name of this shop! I wonder….

Yes, it was quite entertaining here!

We decided to grab an early dinner….by this time, the Missus was sorely missing Asian food…well, Chinese to be specific. I did some research before the trip and found a place that was dog friendly and basically two blocks from where we were staying. Now, I did have my doubts because the place served everything from Orange Chicken to XLB to Chow Fun to Sichuan/Hunan and has multiple locations, named Special Noodle. But I thought we’d give it a shot. Now if I had my doubts…imagine the Missus!

We arrived and I expected us to be seated on the patio; but the very nice gentleman escorted us to one of the back dining rooms!

He also spoke Mandarin….which eased some of the doubts the Missus had. The menu was huge….talk about “Vietnamese Menu overload” times 2!

Yep, this place tries to cover all bases.

It was a huge portion of rice for a single order.

We decided on some typical Hunan style dishes. Starting with the Pickled Beans with Minced Pork.

While kind of mild in the spiciness department, this was a pretty legit dish. Nice soy flavor, the long beans had a nice crunch adding that mild salty-sourness to the dish. The pork wasn’t overly chewy. Nice savory dish!

And of course I had to try the Intestines with Chilies.

Made with a combination of sliced jalapenos and dried chilies, this had a nice smoky kick. Nicely seasoned with soy sauce-garlic-white pepper and a touch of numbing Sichuan Peppercorns. The pork intestine was fairly tender, with a pleasant initial toothsomeness. Nice funky tones and a really good dish.

And of course……

What we did notice as the place filled up was that the Chinese customers were seated in the same area as us. While the “other” customers were seated in the front dining area, which we named “Eggroll Land” ! Kind of funny….

The Missus was pleasantly surprised at the food and even though She got Her “fix”, we’d end up returning the next day for lunch!

Special Noodle
415 Ocean St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

We were enjoying Santa Cruz. In addition to the “vibe” we had gotten decent Chinese dishes as well!

Road Trip – Bouchon Bakery (Yountville) and The Napa River Inn

December 19, 2025 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, Dog Friendly, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Road Trip, Travel

**** Just a croissant in this one, in case you just want to come back tomorrow!

Our next destination after leaving Mendocino was the actual city of Napa. But first, I wanted to stop at a bakery that folks I know have been raving about in Yountville. Back in 2003, the one and only Thomas Keller opened Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, to reside along his restaurant Bouchon…all of which has become part of the kingdom that includes among others, the French Laundry, which I’ve had the pleasure of dining at a bajillion years ago and Per Se.

So, after a three hour drive, we made a stop in Yountville, which is quite a lovely and artsy town.

We found some parking up the street from the bakery and had a lovely little stroll down Washington Street. Van De Leur Park is a small, but quaint park…..and the flowers were in bloom, which JJ enjoyed.

We arrived at Bouchon Bakery and the Missus and JJ had a seat at the bench outside; while I went in.

Yes, of course I got the butter croissant, which looked fairly good.

Not overly laminated and while the ridges didn’t fall off, it lacked a nice crispness. The interior was on the doughy side and definitely needed more butter for my taste.

Overall….meh. And the funny thing is; we’d actually get a better croissant aux buerre later on this road trip, in Santa Cruz of all places!

Bouchon Bakery
6528 Washington St.
Yountville, CA 94599

We took a short walk after having the croissant.

Yountville seems nice to visit; though all the folks we saw seemed like tourists. I’m fairly certain it’s pretty expensive to live here as well.

From Yountville, it was about a twenty-five minute drive into the city of Napa and our accommodation, the Napa River Inn. Located in the Hatt Building, once the location of the Napa Mill, the hotel is located right on the riverfront.

It’s a historic property…..just look at the lobby.

The rooms are spread thru three different buildings on the property. The entrance to where our room was on Fifth Street.

And it actually had a view of the riverwalk from the patio, though it was discreetly bordered by plants for privacy. But, one of the main reasons we stayed here was how dog friendly the place is.

Look at how JJ was greeted!

I guess there were three pups staying here on this day!

And they had the room nicely set-up for him as well.

There’s a bakery; with free pastries delivered to your room each morning; 2 restaurants, a cocktail bar, and a sweet shop located on the property.

And lots of artwork everywhere.

Napa River Inn
500 Main St.
Napa, CA 94559

After settling in, we headed on out to explore a bit. We crossed the Napa River on the Third Street Bridge.

And went to explore the Oxbow Public Market.

There wasn’t anything at the market or along the walk that caught the Missus’s attention. So we headed back to the room.

It was kind of strange as this would basically be the main theme of our stay for the Missus as She seemed kinda bored with Napa…..

But at least JJ was a VIP!

Saturday Stuffs – Nutmeg Bakery & Cafe Coming to Bay Park, 85°C Bakery (Balboa) Closing 12/19, and Other “Stuffs”

December 13, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, yoso-silly

Just a couple of things I’ve come across recently.

Nutmeg Bakery & Cafe Coming to Bay Park:

While having my coffee with JJ at Bay Park Coffee this morning, I noticed a new sign on what used to be the ~~weed growers~~ Hydroponic Shop next to Poseidon Project.

Whoa, now this was quite a surprise as I hadn’t read or heard anything about this. Could it be? Well, at least the sign says Nutmeg Cafe & Bakery is coming soon! The place has locations in Poway and Scripps Ranch, which Cathy has posted on twice.

This is exciting news….though I’m kinda worried that the place is going to take away business from Bay Park Coffee….and the parking in the area, with the new yoga studio is kind of at a premium, so we’ll see! I know there have been plans for up to 14,000 new housing in the area, near the trolley, so they might be putting down roots? It’s going to be an interesting couple of years.

4122 Napier St.
San Diego, CA 92110

85°C Bakery (Balboa) Closing 12/19:

I’d already read about this on other sites; but when I did a quick trip to the bank recently, well, the sign was up.

Yep, they closing on 12/19. There was something that did stir that sarcastic humor of mine. Notice the sign on the left says “Time to Party”? And right next to it is the “We Are Closing” sign?

Anyway, 85C was a most welcome addition to the area when they opened back in 2014. I was told that the cause was the rapidly increasing rent.

Though since Covid, the place always seemed short staffed and opening hours changed quite frequently.

85°C Bakery Cafe
5575 Balboa Ave.
330 San Diego, CA 92111

Hillcrest Sandwich Co. Has Closed:

I made an exploratory drive up to Hillcrest, aka the “new ramen central” to see if I could find a parking spot and get my fix. I was amazed to find decent parking on Fifth Avenue. While walking down Fifth, I looked over and noticed that the Hillcrest Sandwich Co. looked closed.

Checking online, it looked like they closed in February! Oh my….they’ve been around forever. I used to get sandwiches there when I did consulting here in SD back in the late 90’s! And when my office was in the area we used to order from them every so often….though I hadn’t actually been in the shop since my pre-blogging days! Looks like more development in the area is driving a lot of change.

Man, just in the last year El Cuervo, then La Posta de Acalpuco, and many other businesses have closed in the area.

3780 Fifth Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

And finally…it’s pronounced you-ree-nay:

So, I noticed that Nijiya had Lily Bulb in stock today. And while taking a look, a young lady saw the name and asked the mom if it’s really what she thought it was…..

Like I noted on my Instagram post…..you know what she thought this was, right?

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

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

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

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

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

Café du Centre
57 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

We just love sitting here.

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

Or sometimes “puppy-watch”……

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

This was an ok version.

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

Jeffrey Cagnes
73 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And suddenly, we’d be in a church.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paris – Jeffrey Cagnes (Rue Montorgueil) and Dinner at Le Colimacon

August 16, 2025 mmm-yoso Bakery, Desserts, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

After lunch, we took a nice siesta. Upon awakening, the Missus decided it was the correct hour for le goûter (tea time).

So, we headed on over to Rue Montorgueil (of course) and the Missus picked up some tea from Mariage Freres.

Mariage Frères Montorgueil
90 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

And then of course she needed to find some dessert. Our usual stop on the street would be Fou de Pâtisserie, but the Missus wanted to try somethin different. Right up the street is a location of Jeffrey Cagnes, which had opened at the end of 2022. The place had always been pretty packed on our previous trip to Paris, but now it looked like things had settled down a bit.

The Missus liked the look of the pistachio tarte.

So that's what we got.

It was actually a pistachio – orange tarte.

Which the Missus enjoyed with Her tea. Edging on overly sweet, hints of orange, hints of earthy-nutty-vanilla.

Jeffrey Cagnes
73 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

We enjoyed just relaxing before heading out to dinner.

While in Milan the Missus requested that I cancel our reservations at Septime and make reservations at a place named Le Colimacon instead. I'd never heard of the place, but went ahead and cancelled Septime and made requested reservations for dinner. The "modern bistro" is located in the Marais on a street we're fairly familiar with Rue Vieille du Temple, where Breizh Café, Edwart Chocolatier, and other places we'd been to are located. We arrived at opening which was at a very "un-Paris like" 630pm. Most Parisians dine after 8pm.

The restaurant is warm and cozy and there's also an upstairs area as well. Service was very attentive and we were spoken to totally in English….which are "red flags" for me with regards to dining in Paris.

The prices weren't too bad and there seemed to be some interesting items on the menu.

Though there was an item on the iPad menu that I wasn't going to order……

I think there was something "lost in translation" here? Hmmm……

Of course I started with a nice Kir Royale!

Which sadly would be the highlight of the meal.

Though the baguette was yeasty and quite good.

First up was the Frisée with poached egg and "lard croustillant"…that would be crispy bacon.

The frisée was crisp with nice, bitter tones, and the vinaigrette complemented it well. The poached egg was ice cold and the yolk overcooked and hard. It also had that fishy flavor. The bacon was on the burnt and bitter side and was chewy instead of being crisp.

The Croustilles de Escargot was up next.

The pastry that the escargot rested in lacked crispness. The escargot was fine; nice and meaty, but the persillade needed more "umph" and was weak in the garlic and flavorful olive oil department.

Seeing Huitres…..oysters from Normandy with a truffle gratinee on the menu…well, you know I had to order that, right?

The oysters were nice and plump with an almost sweet-briney finish.

But the sauce overpowered the bivalves and we really couldn't make out any truffle flavor either.

The last dish up was the Cassolette de Champignons.

This usually creamy mushroom dish was served at room temp, which made it really gluey and pasty. The overall flavor was quite bland.

Overall, nice service though a fairly mediocre meal. All the customers were tourists, which is quite telling.

Le Colimacon
44 Rue Vieille du Temple
75004 Paris, France

As we were leaving the restaurant I asked the Missus how She heard about this place. She then told me that the daughter of the owner has a very popular Instagram account! Say what???

The place was packed with folks waiting outside when we left……ah yes, the "influencer effect".

As we walked back to our room; I tried to recall when we had two mediocre meals in a row in Paris?

Well, I was determined not to make it three in a row!

Paris – La Samaritaine, Nèulo, and a Return to Aux Crus de Bourgogne

August 15, 2025 mmm-yoso Bakery, Croissants, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

As I continue to try to get all our travel posts done…….

Having arrived in Paris, we just wanted to relax. We'd been to the city so many times that it almost feels like our….or at least my second home. We decided to stay at the Citadines Les Halles in the 2nd Arrondissement as it was right on the RER Blue Line from CDG and of course my favorite street, Rue Montorgueil is close by.

Looking out from our room in the morning, it seemed like it was going to be a nice day.

We did our usual morning "thing" and had our morning "caffe allonge" at Café du Centre, which I'd already mentioned in my previous Paris post. We then had a nice stroll before trying to determine what we wanted to do this morning. On one of our previous trips, I noticed that La Samaritaine had reopened after being closed for 16 years!

We decided to take a look. Man, talk about a fancy place!

Established in 1869, it had become an iconic building right off the Seine. The department store closed its doors in 2005 due to safety concerns. The luxury goods company LVMH purchased the property and after 16 years the property reopened under the auspices of DFS Group. Even after all of the renovations and such, not everyone was happy about that.

We decided to take a peek…..

We walked up the stairs to the top floor……the art work is quite over-the-top.

There a restaurant which was closed. Not that we'd eat there.

There's also a area with a hologram show going.

This all seemed a bit over-the-top, though somewhat entertaining. We also noticed only a couple of customers shopping…..and really wondered if Parisians would really take to a place like this. La Samaritaine has been touted as revolutionizing the department store concept.

La Samaritaine
9 Rue de la Monnaie
75001 Paris, France

As we headed down Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie to do some necessary shopping, we stopped in at this patisserie.

They seemed to specialize in flan as there were at least eight different versions available, but the Missus wasn't interested. Of course, I just wanted a croissant aux beurre.

It was fairly light though the interior was on the moist side. Nicely laminated and crisp, but sorely lacking in butteriness. Just a mediocre version overall….I should just give in and gotten a flan….

Nèulo
46 Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie
75004 Paris, France

We managed to get some shopping done…..I've posted on these places before.

And then of course we did the lèche-vitrine – window shopping (literally translated as "window licking" in French) thing. And of course the people (and pooch) watching.

Along with a dose of history along the way…..

And doing that Flâneur thing ("to wander with no purpose") we came across this…..

It's one of the last 8 remaining towers of the Philippe Auguste Wall, which was completed in 1215 to encircle and protect the city. We would take a tour with the one and only Oliver Gee, who is obsessed with the wall and learn a lot more about it. It's amazing what you run into just walking down the street in Paris!

For dinner, we just headed on over to Rue Montorgueil and Rue Bachaumont to a place that we'd dined at twice before, Aux Crus de Bourgogne. We'd had a surprisingly good meal there, back in winter of 2022…we had passed the place so many times and thought it to be tourist restaurant. We did a follow-up visit and did not enjoy our dinner as much. This would be the "tie-breaker" of sorts. And we picked visiting during lunch.

The service was prompt and professional as always.

The Missus loves tearing into the baguette here. She also loves the rillette that accompanies the baguette!

We had really enjoyed the Vol-au-Vent with mushrooms on our first visit and were happy to see it on the menu on this day.

The puff pastry was on the doughy side and not crisp and light as we enjoy. Good amount of mushroom, but the sauce was a lot thinner than what we'd had here before and lacking in the rich-earthiness.

The Missus had always enjoyed the Escargot here, so we ordered that as well.

This had a lot less olive oil and garlic than before and the snails were on the tough side! Bummer.

This ended up being like our second, not so great visit. Well, I guess we're done with Aux Crus de Bourgogne for now.

Aux Crus de Bourgogne
3 Rue Bachaumont
75002 Paris, France

Oh well…..can't win 'em all! And we are so blessed to be able to return to Paris so often that we're able to try a place on three separate trips, right?

Road Trip – Tiger Bar & Cafe (June Lake) and it’s back to Erick Schat’s Bakkerÿ (Bishop) and Alabama Hills Cafe & Bakery (Lone Pine)

July 26, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Pubs and Pub Grub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Sierra Nevada, California, Travel

I thought I'd best finish up this series on our stay in June Lake so here goes…..

After the Missus did Her morning paddleboarding while I got breakfast at Silver Lake Resort Cafe and then hiking the Reversed Peak Loop Trail, we headed back to June Lake to freshen up. We waned to grab a quick lunch and just relax. Right across the street from our accommodations is the Tiger Bar & Cafe, one of the few places opened daily from nine to nine.

The place serves everything from breakfasts, to "Mexican" dishes, to burgers, to salads……you get the picture. We decided to just get a simple sandwich and you know the Missus….She loves Her bacon; so we got a BLT on sourdough, with chips as our side to go and walked on down to Gull Lake, returning to pick up our lunch.

Once we picked up our order; we simply strolled across the street, to our accommodations, and split our sandwich in the comfort of our room.

This was pretty much a by-the-book BLT. The chips were a bit thicker than we prefer.

The bread was a bit under-toasted, but the bacon was nice and crisped, the tomatoes decently ripe.

Would I go out of my way for this sandwich…..well, no. But since it was right across the street…..

On my way out, I noticed the "specials" menu.

I noticed a couple of items that we interesting. Plus, the Missus and I just wanted to relax before leaving the next morning. So, after our afternoon nap, we decided to head on over for an early dinner.

It was 4pm and there were a few customers already in the place….most of them having a "happy hour" it seems.

The Missus had a glass of wine, I had a light and refreshing Mammoth Brewing Pilsner.

And we ordered from the specials grease board menu, all items were priced at $9.95. Our Server was very nice and friendly.

First to arrive were the pork rib tips.

This was actually pretty good. Not a huge fan of the overly sweet, mass-produced BBQ sauce; but the rib tips were fairly tender, with nice cartiledgeous chewiness. A decent amount of smokiness with a mild rub. It was better than we had expected.

Next to arrive were the fried pickles. Man, the portion size was pretty large.

Crisp outside, with a sour-tangy-saltiness, this was a nice version.

The Fried Brussel Sprouts on the other hand was our least favorite.

The batter didn't hold up well and was quite salty. The actual brussel sprouts were mushy and had a weird texture.

Still, two out of three ain't bad. Again, I wouldn't go out of my way for this, but being across the street…..

Tiger Bar & Cafe
2620 CA-158
June Lake, CA 93529

Of course, after all of that fried food, we needed to take a walk and headed back down to Gull Lake to watch the day turn into night.

The next morning we headed out early and made a stop in Bishop at Erick Schat's.

This time we got the Sheepherder Bread and of course more cookies for the Missus.

That bread is great…..this will be a regular stop for us from now on.

Erick Schat's Bakkerÿ
763 N Main St.
Bishop, CA 93514

About an hour south of Bishop is Lone Pine and it seemed like a good idea to make a brunch stop before the five hour plus drive home. We decided on revisiting Alabama Hills Cafe. We stopped an easily found parking and unlike our previous visit, things were rather mellow in the restaurant.

The Missus got the bacon and egg breakfast, which came with a rather dense biscuit, and breakfast potatoes….and of course bacon.

While the potatoes had a generous amount of bell peppers and onions, it was bit on the greasy side. No complaints about the bacon as She also ended up poaching some of mine.

Having thought that the BLT I had for lunch here was decent; I got the Breakfast BLT.

Other than the bread being a bit under toasted….and the interesting portion of grapes….I guess they wanted to make sure I had some fruit with breakfast; I enjoyed this sandwich. Even though the eggs could have been a bit more runny; there were no off flavors, the nice smoky saltiness of the bacon (before the Missus stole it), acidity of the tomato, this was a decent sandwich. I'd have it again.

Typical diner-ish fare; pretty much what we expected.

Alabama Hills Cafe & Bakery
111 West Post St.
Lone Pine, CA 93545

And then we were headed home……intent on getting some Asian food for the Missus!

Thanks for stopping by!