Bakery – Page 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

I just wanted to see this:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The espresso were fine.

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

Maison Christian Faure
355 Place Royale
Montreal, Canada

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

La Fromagerie Atwater
134 Avenue Atwater
Montreal, Canada

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

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

Thanks for reading!

Los Pollos Cuban Bakery – The House of Cuban Flavor (Chula Vista)

April 25, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Cuban Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for returning to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is very busy at work this week, Ed (from Yuma) is busy learning the ins and outs of his new computer and that means Cathy is writing today's post…she isn't as busy as she had been.

I've been in Chula Vista a lot this year, always noticing this small storefront in a far corner of a mall anchored by a CVS and Grocery Outlet.Finally having time to drive South without needing to rush, The Mister and I stopped here for a light lunch.
Small, with only two tables inside and four tables out in front, the limited menu looked interesting. There are two display counters. The one on the left has heated items (typical Cuban bakery items) while the one on the right is refrigerated. The refrigerated items were what I would call 'eclectic international desserts'- European fruit topped custard pie, coconut macaroons, French macaron, Italian cannoli, custard, rice pudding and flan..
Even though the first items of the menu listings indicate a relationship to the name of 'Los Pollos' as the specialty here, the rotisserie chicken wasn't ready and so we ordered a couple of items from the warm display, a chicken empanada ($1.79) and a meat pastry ($1.65). The chicken empanada was baked (not fried). The wonderful simple flavors of rotisserie chicken mixed with garlic and tomato wrapped in the fresh pastry was delicious. About the size of my palm, the whole empanada had quite enough filling; its ratio with the amount of pastry was just right.

The filling for the meat pastry was a very nice picadillo -ground beef mixed with vegetables. The delightful, crispy puff pastry was perfect. This serving was quite large and very good.
We ordered a Cuban sandwich ($6.50) and were surprised to see it was served with plantain chips as a side. Those fried snacks, unsalted, are just a perfect compliment to the pressed sandwich, filled with roasted pork, ham, Swiss cheese as well as a salty pickle and mustard. Of course, the bread was wonderful.
Since we had ordered a small cup of Americano coffee to share, well, there was this cheese pastry ($1) in the warm counter that I really wanted to try. It, too, was wonderful. Just a bit of a sort of cream cheese/ricotta like cheese mix, surrounded by a sugared puff pastry.

We will return for the chicken…soon.

Here is a link to cc's visit, which I read and immediately forgot; should've stopped here sooner.

Los Pollos Cuban Bakery 1372 Third Avenue Chula Vista 91911 (619) 870-1225 Mon-Sat 10 A.M.- 8 P.M., Sun 9 A.M.-5 P.M.

Rose Donuts (near USD) Revisit

April 6, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is back, with Cathy writing because Kirk is too busy to write and Ed (from Yuma) is too exhausted to write.

I posted about Rose Donuts almost three years ago and despite visiting here multiple times in the interim, just didn't bother posting again. (That post was primarily written to focus on the exclusive item sold here, a blueberry fritter, which has, sadly, been discontinued). Since I had a wonderful breakfast sandwich at Winchell's, I thought a few posts focusing on breakfast sandwiches at donut places would be a good topic, especially since that's been my latest way of getting breakfast.

This location, on the South East corner of Linda Vista Road at Napa, is open 24/7 and is family run.

The menu has remained the same (other than periodic price increases) with croissants, bagels and toasted bread being the choices for sandwiches and a 'combo' including a beverage and a donut or six donut holes.

Here's a turkey, egg and cheese on wheat toast ($5.65/$7.15) which can be good any time of the day. It also appears to be a bit healthier than other choices. However, the "Southern"- a croissant filled with ham, egg and cheese (two types) ($5.05/$6.55) is so tasty! The "Sunrise"-egg and cheese on wheat ($5.05/$6.55) is basic, simple and just a very good sandwich.The "Sunshine"- a croissant with ham, bacon, egg and cheese ($5.05/$6.55) is simply decadent and a wonderful way to start the day. Here is part of a combo enjoyed one morning. The raised donuts are so very good here.The buttermilk old fashioned donut is also delightful in its cake-like texture.

Rose Donuts 5201 Linda Vista Road San Diego, CA 92110 (619)294-8856 open 24/7

Peterson’s Donuts (Escondido)

January 27, 2017 Cathy Bakery, What Cathy Eats!

This is a food blog named mmm-yoyo!!! Kirk usually writes here, but is preoccupied. Ed(from Yuma) is also indisposed. Cathy is writing a short Friday post.

When we are in Escondido (most recently at Pegah's, but we've been to other places, which have been (and will be, again) posted (eventually), we try to stop at Peterson's Donut Corner, which I have posted about one time and mentioned briefly in a donut compendium post, as well as in another compendium involving ham and cheese baked into bread.

Petersons is on the corner of Ninth and Escondido Boulevard, about four cross streets (at the second signal light-East) from Pegah's.
There is a board with pricing just above the ordering windows; it's not all crazy expensive here. Besides, walking along the side windows to see what's available will probably make you not even think about price when ordering. This is the maple-bacon bar; it is $3.75, heavy and about 8 inches in length. One of the most expensive items here.
One order satisfied many cravings, with an orange frosted(with orange peel bits) cake donut($1.10), a chocolate cake donut topped with chocolate frosting and peanuts ($1.10) and a cherry filled fried tortilla/roll($2) When we returned recently, other cravings existed and One dozen donut holes(raised are 15¢ each, cake are 30¢ each), along with a cinnamon roll (with raisins, $2.10; plain is $2) were our choices. The raisins are plentiful and in all of the rolled length of the roll. So good.

A long time (since 1942), local owned, old fashioned, classic donut shop.

Peterson's Donut Corner 903 S. Escondido Boulevard, Escondido 92025 (760) 745-7774

Mary’s Donuts- Lakeside

January 22, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, one of many food blogs on the internet. This one is written by three friends, two of them (Kirk and Ed (from Yuma)) are too busy and/or tired to post today, so Cathy is writing a short post on this gloomy, wet and cold day. If you've been to East County, you might recognize the symbol.

It looks like it was taken off of the original Mary's Donuts in Santee, which closed almost a year ago after being in that location more than 30 years; the new Santee location has it. The newest location is in Lakeside, near the end of Highway 67, on Maine Street; that's a new donut symbol. cc was there at the Grand Opening! Yes, these photos were taken over the December holiday season; the windows were decorated and red and green frosting was used in a festive way. The selection of donuts is tremendous, fresh and, as always, tasty. (That giant one, next to the apple fritters on the top shelf is a 'Birthday Donut', $10) At the cash register, I noticed signage regarding sandwich choices. Not just donuts for lunch! The sandwiches are $6.99 and this turkey with cheddar choice was really good; a good amount of high quality thinly shaved quite flavorful turkey. Standard toppings of lettuce, tomato, mayo, no onion. It was served on a fresh, toasted croissant, probably from Costco. I like basic, good quality sandwiches.A ham and egg breakfast sandwich, with lettuce and tomato and mayo really hit the spot. Again, a good amount of high quality ham along with the freshly scrambled eggs. A great meal.
Of course, we came here for donuts. My favorite, a French cruller ($0.95), with green frosting (just to be festive; if blindfolded, I would not know if it were plain glazed or frosted, much less color) and the ever popular, quite large, quite apple filled, apple fritter ($1.90), which was shared and taken home to be shared again later.

A great, local place. Stay safe!

Mary's Donuts-Lakeside 10101 Maine Avenue Lakeside, Ca 92040 (619) 334-5272 Always open

Su Pan Bakery (and more!)Esencia de Sabor (Rolando area)

January 21, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

You are about to start reading another post of mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Today. it's written by Cathy; the guys are busy.

Many of our days start out with some sort of appointment in various parts of the County, then taking random roads home and stopping either if seeing interesting signage or many parked cars at a storefront. That's how The Mister and I noticed Su Pan Panaderia, a Mexican bakery located next to a gas station, sharing a parking lot with both a Liquor and Auto Parts store, on El Cajon Boulevard, West of 54th. There are not many spaces in that parking lot and we've ended up parked across the street. Walking inside, the cash registers are directly in front of you. An ever changing menu board behind those shows breakfast and lunch choices, made to order in the kitchen. There are some items on the counter and pre-made sandwiches in the refrigerator. In addition to the refrigerated bakery items, the fresh shelves, to the left, are constantly being filled.

These were some recent purchases: Different combinations of cake, crusts and cookies combined with chocolate, cream cheese, jelly, fruit, nuts, cream and/or butter based fillings. Everything here has an extract, essence, aroma, flavor!

For example, this large double cookie is layered with a buttercream and chopped peanuts- a sort of home made peanut butter filling ($1.59).
That large, round 'pastry' on the second tray above is essentially two round vanilla flavored cupcake tops, slathered with a buttery buttercream (not sweet if you lick that in between portion)which is also frosted on the outside then rolled in sugar ($1.29). It's delightfully soft cake, sweet only because of the sugar crystals and so wonderfully perfect in its butter-vanilla simplicity.

Back to the menu board and cash register area.On the counter there's a tray of fresh and flaky empañadas ($2.49). The cream cheese with jalapeño is always a good choice (although the tuna empañada is really good, especially when warmed).
The most expensive breakfast burrito choice is the 'Hash Brown burrito' ($5.49) which has everything in it- eggs, cheese, hash browns and sausage, bacon, ham and chorizo. Everything. Very good and very large.

On more than one occasion, a ham and egg bolillo (($4.99) is a breakfast choice. The fresh baked bolillo bread is cut in half and a thin layer of beans are spread. Cooked egg, pan fried ham chunks, rectangles of Cotija cheese avocado slices and canned jalapeño slices complete this large enough for two breakfast.

Su Pan Bakery 5006 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego 92115 (619)287-2078 open 5 am-10:30 pm daily Website

In December, when a cart of fresh baked good were being transferred to the cabinets, a deformed walnut cupcake one was spotted and the nice worker asked if we wanted it. Excellent flavor, crunchy walnut pieces and now a regular choice.

2017 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Showcase of Floats and snacks at House of Cookies and Egg Roll Express (Pasadena)

January 13, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Chinese Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome to another edition of mmm-yoyo!!!, the food blog with variants on the acquisition of said foodstuffs. Kirk is very busy with work this week and Ed (from Yuma) is very busy with retirement (in Yuma). Cathy is writing today.

Last Monday, January 2, was the official New Year holiday and the Tournament of Roses held its annual parade and Bowl Game. The following morning, The Mister and I drove North to see the parade floats lined up end to end, at the Showcase of Floats. The Banner float, which was first in the 96 unit parade entries (floats, bands, equestrian units), reflected the theme of this year, "Echoes of Success". Of the 44 floats in the parade, five are not judged (this is one of those) and 24 of the remaining floats are trophy winners. I'll just show you some details from some of the floats. Walking along to view takes at least two hours and that's if you aren't paying attention to the details that went into the meticulous decorations. You can see the work and thought that went into the design and execution of each float.

Cal Poly Universities entry, 'A New Leaf' featured three chameleons, with that yellow one changing color via an elaborate system of dowels. (YouTube video, 1:45 in length). The California Milk Advisory Board, with its entry "Legacy of Generations" provided a surreal view of a good variety of California Dairy products and emphasized the generations of California dairy families who helped to make California the most successful dairy state in the nation (The 'raisins' are covered with real raisins and the 'cereal flakes' are dried apple skin).

Ragu sponsored this "Simmered in Tradition" float, which was meticulously detailed in its design.
Dole Packaged Foods, "Spirit of Hawaii" won the Sweepstakes Trophy for the most beautiful entry in parade with outstanding floral presentation and design (The inside of the robe is lined with dried banana chips). The float that The Mister and I helped to decorate in early December was finally revealed and left in this position to display at the Showcase. The meaning of 'We Came, We saw, We Covered' was finally revealed during the parade. We were happy to be a part of the Farmers Insurance entry.
So much detail went into the decoration of every float. I will add some thumbnails to the end of this post and you can enjoy a few more photos, but now…it's time for the food portion of this blog post.
We had parked near the North entrance for the Showcase of Floats (there are three entrances) and walked, so on the way back to our car, we again stopped at the House of Cookies/Arsen Bakery, where we were recognized and warmly greeted.

Such a small area holds a great deal of delicious treats. This box was $4. Everything was so fresh, crispy, creamy and flavored wonderfully. A great, local, family run bakery. Arsen Bakery House of Cookies 2451 East Washington Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-4280

A block away,

we'd been seeing this signage (and outside lantern decor) for years, but never were here when Egg Roll Express was open. We had finally the chance to dine here!

Simple decor, a pitcher of hot tea and weekday lunch specials!

Each lunch special comes with a choice of either hot and sour or egg flower soup. This was a wonderful, fresh, chicken based, creamy and very eggy egg drop served in a quite large bowl. I wanted more.

The serving plate of the special(#30-fish filet with Szechuan sauce)($7.29)was so cute! The food was even better. The spicy fish and vegetables were so fresh and flavorful.

The egg roll? Well, it was fried right (not greasy and nicely crispy) and filled with fresh and bright flavored vegetables. Quite good.
Since this was our first visit to a new Chinese restaurant, our standard , Egg Foo Young (with chicken) was ordered ($8.99). Wow! Every restaurant makes EFY their own way and The Mister and I liked this version. Filled with bean sprouts, onion and eggy goodness, the pancake was crispy even under the (not salty) gravy, chicken and fresh vegetables.

Egg Roll Express 2397 E. Washington Blvd Pasadena, Ca 91104 (626)791-2398 open daily 11a.m.-9:30 p.m. Website

We walked over 6,000 steps that day- starting off the year with a good habit. Soo and Maggie were here too, each wrote their own post! Here are some thumbnails of a few more floats. Here and Here is a link to 2017 float road testing, This is a link to one of the 'dry decorating days'.

Kababayan Market and Snoice (inside the market)

October 31, 2016 Cathy Bakery, Desserts, Filipino Restaurants, Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt

mmm-yoso!!! is what you are reading; a food blog. Usually there is a daily blogpost about food or food related events written by either Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) or Cathy. Since the guys are out and about (elsewhere in the world and the USA), Cathy is writing a short post.

More than three years ago, I wrote a post about a small Filipino market located South of Chula Vista. That location closed and the new location is closer to home, for me.

Walking in the doorway to your right, bakery items are on shelves to the right. Steam trays are straight ahead and everything is always fresh and being refilled. This two item tray ($7 with rice, $8 with pancit)(this photo is with chicken adobo and pinakbet). Adobo anything (meats or vegetables) is a type of preparation: simmered in a sauce of vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, pepper and bay leaves. Pinakbet is primarily vegetables (almost always, bitter melon and eggplant), but sometimes (in the version here) also has pork, all of it is simmered in a fish or shrimp sauce complimented with ginger and garlic (or onion); usually shrimp paste is a condiment.

At the end of the steam tray area are fried things. Chicken skins, dilis (anchovies), bulaklak ('ruffle fat'-intestines), pig skin plus meat-chicharrones. All the fried items are $8.99/lb. I try to only buy a small bag, so none of it gets old. It comes with a vinegar-garlic dipping sauce. Ukoy, a shredded sweet potato/carrot/bean sprout fritter, topped with a whole shrimp are usually in a pan on top of the steam trays, at eye level. These are great snacks.
Another item I will drop in to purchase is the garlic salted peanuts ($3.75 for the container). We both eat peanuts with skins and these are the best version of garlic peanuts we've ever had. cc likes the 'plain' peanuts from here, and other bakery items. There are also plenty of rice flour based desserts and, on weekends, skewers near the cash register.

A small seating area is just past the cash registers. That area used to be with shelving and refrigerated beverages, but last year a small pop-up stand was set up (see how it looked in cc's post here) and about three months later, it moved into the Water Store which was behind the wall, and is all built in with the bakery. Snoice is a family run dessert shop, making Filipino-inspired and Taiwanese customizable desserts.
Here is a better photo of the menu
These are the prices.

I've taken many photos of the traditional Halo-Halo here ($4.25+), none of those photos will come out upright. Halo-halo means 'mix-mix'. Shaved ice is placed in a cup with with evaporated milk, sweet banana (saging), sweet potato (kamote), jello (gulaman), purple yam (ube) and topped with a cube of caramel flan and 'toasted rice' (pinipig-young, flattened crisp rice (that green you see on top)). Basically, you mix all the ingredients together in the cup, so each spoonful is a combination of the flavors. The optional ice cream you see in the first photo is the mais queso- corn cheese; I have always been curious about the flavor but never wanted to buy a half gallon in the store. The 'traditional' ice cream topping is ube. (This link is what Halo-halo is NOT.)

Of course, there is indeed Snoice here-shaved snow. This is a strawberry shaved snow (excellent on its own) topped with bananas and lychee jelly (small snow, $4, toppings 50¢ each). Simple and just right.

This little corner store in San Diego has a couple of great family owned and run businesses with authentic, fresh and tasty food-of all types.

Kababayan Bakery 8423 Paradise Valley Road (at Worthington) Spring Valley 91977 (619) 267-1493 open 6 a.m.-7:30 p.m., seven days

Snoice (inside Kababayan) same address, (619)432-5735 Open 11 a.m. daily, closed at 8p.m. Mon-Thurs, 9 p.m. Fri-Sat-Sun Website

2017 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test #1 -Tan Hoang Huong (Tustin), Copenhagen Pastry (Pasadena) and Burger Basket (Corona)

May 21, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Banh Mi, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with contributions about food consumed from various places under various circumstances. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing today. Cathy is writing about her circumstances.

Yes, it is that time of year again. The President, Theme (Echoes of Success), Marching Bands and some float designs for the 128th Tournament of Roses parade were announced not long after the 127th Parade ended on January 1, 2016. Floats are in the beginning stages of being built and a "T-1" (first float road test of mechanics and maneuverability) of floats built by Phoenix Decorating Company (who built 22 of the 44 floats in the 2016 parade) was held on Saturday morning at 7 a.m.

Listening to traffic reports, an accident had the North 5 with all lanes closed, so The Mister and I left home before 5 a.m. and stopped at Tan Hoang Huong (THH) in Tustin, since we were there before 6 a.m. (when Cream Pan (our usual stop) opens). Located just West (under the 5) of Cream Pan, it is good place to grab a sandwich and other treats. I knew about it because of several posts on CC's blog.

We ordered two egg rolls (@65¢) and a pork pate chaud (85¢) to eat while we waited for our bahn mi to be prepared. Yes, that's a 'spam' and egg sandwich ($4.25).

Fresh items, great tasting. Not the same as K Sandwiches, but very good. THH 14081 Newport Ave Tustin, CA (714)731-1366 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sun 7 am-4 pm website

We detoured around the accident (which blocked the North 5 for more than six hours) and arrived at the Road Test just after 7 a.m.

Raymond Street is the place. The floats were lined up. The Rotary International float is in a very basic stage. You can see exactly where the driver and spotter are seated. They are communicating via headsets, as they will during the parade. The spotter on the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float is the lady to the left in the photo. She will be seated below the floor of that gazebo-like structure. The Kiwanis float is taking shape. The City of Alhambra float has a fire engine being driven by both a fireman and a fire dog… Lions Clubs International is celebrating 100 years of Service in 2017. I can tell this float will be even more magnificent once it is decorated.

There were more details, but you get the idea. We were off to our next stop, Copenhagen Pastry (again, I knew about it from CC's blog), located East on Colorado Boulevard. The truck (and a few cars) parked in front of the otherwise quiet street made the subtle storefront easy to find. The fresh selections were so tempting- yes, that's about everything offered- We bought a loaf of Rye bread ($6) the dense, chewy style, made with rye berries, sunflower and black flax seeds, a Spandauer ($1.95) flaky pastry topped with almond paste and custard and a slice of Kringle ($1.95) also filled with almond paste, custard and sugar. We will return.

Copenhagen Pastry 3731 Colorado Blvd Pasadena 91107 Open Tues-Fri 7-5, Sat-Sun 8-4 Website

This location of Copenhagen has closed

We began heading home, stopped at a Super H-Mart for some items and then hit another accident prone area of the 91 freeway, exited and decided to stop at
Burger Basket, which we have driven past during prior sidesteps from traffic. Order, pay, have a seat…watch the char grill happen. A double cheese burger- (charred to perfection)($5.49) Gosh, I haven't had such a great burger since Sima's. My semi-usual morning order of an egg sandwich with sausage ($5.89). Let me say, this was heavy and huge with unexpectedly large tasty breakfast sausages (skin slightly burned), a lot of egg and lettuce with tomato and mayonnaise. Burger Basket has been at this location since at least 2007 and again, wish we had stopped here sooner. We will be back.

Burger Basket 1058 West Sixth Corona, CA 92882 (951) 734-1331 Open 7 days 6:30-9:30 Website

It was a long morning and we were home before noon. I hope you are having a good weekend!

Bordeaux: Marche des Capucins, Fournil des Capucins, Église Sainte-Croix, and Jardin Public

April 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Bakery, Bordeaux, Cheese, France, Markets & Grocers, Travel

The sun rose early and brightly on our first full day in Bordeaux. Even though we had arrived mid-morning we had still put in quite a few kilometers before deciding to call it a day. We would end up putting in some mileage on this day as well.

I had a destination in mind and we decided to just meander our way to our objective; one of the benefits of independent travel. The sun was shining brightly on Place de la Bourse as we headed off into the district known as Saint-Pierre, considered the birthplace of the city. The narrow streets are lined with structures from the 18th century and lead, one way or another into a square. We quickly walked onto the cobblestone lined Place du Parlement, once the location of the Royal Market.

The centerpiece is a beautiful Neo-Rococo fountain.

Walking to Place Saint Pierre, one can't help but notice the haunting, Gothic styled, Eglise Saint-Pierre (Church of St. Peter), which dates back to the 14th and 15th century.

It really stands out as the square and street is lined with restaurants and cafes, the name of one of them made us laugh……everyone does need a "Plan B", right? Place du Plais leads right up to the Porte Cailhau.

According to what I later read; there was actually a palace located here, the Palais de l'Ombriere the residence of the Dukes of Aquitaine and later housed the Parliament of Bordeaux. I really loved the relief-map sculpture of Bordeaux located right behind the Porte Cailhau. I did a little research and found a blog post about François Didier who created this work.

Near the Porte Cailhau, I noticed this plaque, which started with a few questions before telling us the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Bordeaux claims (along with two other cities) to be the birthplace of Eleanor, who would become one of the most powerful women in the Europe and after getting her marriage to Louis VII annulled would marry the Duke of Normandy, eleven years her junior….Henry, the Duke of Normandy would become Henry II.

A bit further down the way, past the Pont de Pierre we came across the Basilique Saint Michel.

It took two centuries to build this Basilica; starting in 1350 and finishing sometime in the 16th century. Possibly even more impressive is the bell tower which, like Pey-Berland Tower which stands next to the Cathedral of Saint Andre, stands apart from the church. And in case you're wondering who has bragging rights; Fleche Saint Michel is the tallest tower in Sothern France, standing at 114 meters, Pey-Berland Tower is 50 meters tall. On this bright morning there was a lively flea market going on in the square next to the tower.

A few blocks away, we found another church; the Église Sainte-Croix (Church of the Holy Cross).

This used to be a Benedictine monastery and was built between the late 11th and 12th centuries.

One of the most well known features of this church is the Organ built by famous organ maker and Benedictine Monk, Dom Bédos de Celles, finished in 1748.

This was a major landmark for me, as I knew we had to take a left here and swing around to get to our destination, Marche des Capuchins.

I'd read much about this market before we arrived in Bordeaux, it seemed to be a favorite with locals, and you know how much we love visiting markets when we travel!

The market was established on October 2nd, 1749 at the urging of Marquis de Tourny. If you like to see some old photos and read (a translated) history of the market, you can do that here.

We had a gameplan of sorts, but all revolved around bread. I'd noticed a bakery right across the street from the market.

I could actually smell the wonderful scent of bread baking. I followed my nose and ended up at the back of the bakery. The bakers looked at us, smiled and waved us in…….so our first experience at Fournil des Capucins was walking past the ovens and bakers baking bread to the front of the shop.

This would end up being our favorite bakery……I later found out the place is open 24 hours a day! With a steady stream of fresh baguette. How could we not get a baguette and a couple of croissants?

The smell of good fresh baguette is intoxicating….we'd seen folks walking along carrying bread with a chunk off the end missing. Well, I guess it's instinctive, because as soon as we walked out of the bakery, the Missus just bit a chunk off the end of the bread! It is that good…..

Fournil des Capucins
62 Cours de la Marne
Bordeaux, France

The smell of bread had overcome us….we needed something to eat and perhaps some espresso. Right across the back of the bakery, in front of the main entrance to the market is this stand.

Which made a decent cup of espresso that went nicely with our croissant.

Then we ducked back into the market and bought some cheese. We found the farmers and vendors in Marche des Capuchins quite friendly, even though we stood out from the usual crowd. They seemed to go out of their way to help us. We ended up at this cheese stand.

And got some cheese….

Marché des Capucins
Place des Capucins
Bordeaux, France

We had fully intended to do a nice picnic and headed back to the apartment after doing a bit of window shopping on Cours de l’Intendance. Where we saw the ultimate way of entertaining a pup while his "dad" did some shopping in the store.

Just get him some rope and cord to keep him occupied!

We cut through Rue Voltaire and stopped at the Carrefour Market in Place des Grand Hommes. The Missus, laden down with bread and cheese gave me a simple directive…."get us some white wine" which was simple enough. What I wasn't ready for was the whole wall of white wines! Like over 50 different bottles…vintages…blends….I went with something rather local, with some reservation since it was 4,9€ – five bucks and change. The Missus was cracking up when I got out of the market….she'd seen the look on my face when I got to the wine department….analysis paralysis.

We headed up to Jardin Public, the large public garden and green space that was two blocks from our apartment. It's quite a lush and welcoming park.

The park was founded in 1746 in style of a French Garden. Napoleon III turned it into more of an English style park during his reign. There's a nice large pond, the Natural History Museum is located here, and there's even a Puppet Theatre.

Nice, but it was getting a bit too hot for us…so we headed back to the apartment and had a really nice "indoor picnic"……with the A/C on…..doesn't get much better than that!

With our cheese, bread, strawberries, and of course the wine….which was excellent, crisp, light, with a touch of sweet, and a balanced acidity…..

In fact, the Missus would have me go back for this very bottle of wine a couple more times during our stay in Bordeaux.

It's not always about eating out when we're travelling……when in Bordeaux, it was the cheese and wine….oh, and don't forget that baguette!