Beer – Page 12 – mmm-yoso

Another one off the bucket list – Swordfish “Bone Marrow” at Wrench and Rodent and “Breast Beer” too!

September 15, 2014 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Beer, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi

It's actually more like spinal fluid/disc material…but who's keeping score, right? I had been curious about it for a while and I gotta say, I really love the texture and the mild briney.ocean flavor of Swordfish Bone Marrow….think of the mildest oyster in flavor, clean and crisp, combined with the texture of Liangfen 凉粉 – starch jelly noodles. Man, this stuff was really good!

I have to thank Tommy of Catalina Offshore for having Candice and I as his guests, along with Maria and Jonathan for being such great company!

Tommy had been trying to get Candice and I over to Wrench and Rodent for a while for a blow-out Omakase. Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant since, like Candice warned Tommy, I'm a bit of a "traditionalist" when it comes to sushi and sashimi. But you can't forget that I'm from the home of Pacific Rim Cuisine, Hawaii….which is why I hate slapped together con "fusion" dishes….. After reading Faye's post, I thought at the least, this would be an interesting meal.

I gotta say, some of the stuff Davin Waite puts out was so very creative, risky, but still trying to capture the essense of the product. I really enjoyed this meal, even though it was enough to feed an army, or at the least, one hungry Tommy.

My preferred way of having the bone marrow was plain, in the shot glass; there was something so pure and refreshing about it.

I have to say, some of the dishes were just wonderful; the bluefin collar was just out of his world….moist, fatty, like eating "buttah"…..it was well seasoned without killing the product.

I thought this pseudo gunkan maki of toro was a wonderful combination of textures. The cucumber crisp and refreshing, the masago added crunch and the flavor of the ocean, the gari, which I usually have between bites to refresh and clear my palate actually did well here.

Of the nigiri; it was the anchovy with a dengaku style miso paste was my favorite.

The Hamachi Kama was just wonderful as well.

Don't let all this fusiony stuff fool you; Davin makes a decent nigiri……

I quickly found out that Davin's sauces tend to run on the fruity/sweet side; which goes well with a pristine scallop; though I could have just eaten this plain….

I did think there was a bit too much mirin action in his nikiri for the maguro.

His pesto type concoction works relatively well with salmon.

There's no denying there's a good amount of creativity going on here. Davin takes risks and has some chops as well.

When it works, like this wonderful Opah, or was it Monchong cheek, BLT dish, it's quite delicious.

When it doesn't, you can't blame him for trying……

You'll notice, not a single Gringo roll….and only one item I say that belonged on another table.

No mayo, surimi….. though I did see a good amount of tempura/mayo/cream cheese rolls going out.

Over the years I've had a bit of sushi; from the purely traditional, to the modern-traditional, and even the sushi-kaiseki stylings of Urasawa. I gotta say, this one was an original. As is the location; inside of Bull Taco in Oceanside. I actually plan on returning in the near future….who knows what Davin will have up his sleeve.

I really need to thank Tommy for arranging this; and for being a fantastic host…..and keeping us entertained as well. You can tell that Davin loves food and creating, it was a blast talking about different ingredients, products, and techniques.

And I got to cross an item off my bucket list as well.

Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub
1815 S Coast Hwy (inside of Bull Taco)
Oceanside, CA 92054

W&R isn't the only little treasure hidden in Bull Taco. Brewmaster Havin Harris has opened a little microbrewery named Beer Brewing Company in the back of W&R.

I had a taster of the beers available and my favorite….well, I'm not so comfortable writing this; was the, ahem…"breast beer". Apparently, Havin did a ton of research and developed a beer that is supposed to aid in lactogenesis. As strange as it may seem, this was the breast, um, best beer I tasted and Candice agreed. As to it's effects on lactation…well, you're asking the wrong person!

Overall, it was an amazing night of new experiences; from swordfish bone marrow to breast beer!

I couldn't have asked for more!

The Dragon Room at Wongs Golden Palace (La Mesa) lunches

September 2, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Pubs and Pub Grub, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a simple blog, with each post eventually concentrating on food consumed. Today, Cathy is showing what was consumed and where it was prepared. Kirk is way busy at work and Ed(from Yuma) is doing his own consuming out there.

In 2009, I wrote about Wongs Golden Palace, then a 42 year La Mesa icon. I mentioned our favorite food selection, chicken liver chow mein and had a few photos of the ever so classic faux marble with gold vein tabletops.

Near the end of that now five year old post, I mentioned the bar area and their 'specials', telling you I just can't take photos in the darkened area. Five years later, the photos are still coming out dark. Be forewarned. The food is great, so I am sharing.

The now 47 year La Mesa restaurant and attached bar, the Dragon Room, (there, to the far right) has a classic exterior (as well as interior) design, from the signage to the facade.Once inside, there are four televisions above the bar, lots of signage about specials and a large selection of beer, and liquor…(the pint beer on tap is $3.75).There's a modern juke box, foosball, pinball and of course, a pool table.Here are the best photos I can acquire of the 1/2 lb angus burger. As you can (sort of) see, it is served on a toasted bun (sesame seeded), hand formed, can be ordered with cheese, comes with crinkle cut fries or battered whole onion rings or half and half. $5.50, available only Monday-Friday from 11:30-2:30. It's really good. Taco Tuesdays are particularly good, if you like tacos like Mom used to make, with ground meat and packaged seasoning. The shells can be soft or fresh-fried (my favorite) and the toppings are fresh and plentiful. Three for $3.25 is a usual order; the five for $4.75 is a great deal, and way too much for the two of us to share. The Fish Fry Friday ($7.50) Plate is a particularly good, large, filling meal. On this day, we received eight smaller batter fried (perfectly fried I might add) pieces of a solid white fish, along with a lot of crinkle cut fries, cole slaw and similarly sized bowl of tartar sauce. Excellent. This plus the 1/2 lb angus burger make a very filling meal.

On every day except Tuesday, you can order from the Wongs menu and have it brought over from the kitchen (Wongs Golden Dragon is closed for lunch on Tuesday). I did not photograph the WingsWednesday nor the weekend menu items (Steak and eggs for $8 Saturday from 9-noon is a deal; the pork chop and chicken fried steak and eggs meals, $7 each are also really good diner-type meals). Hopefully, I'll post about those before the 50th anniversary.

Again, apologies for the dark photography. We come here to eat and don't want to interfere with other patrons.

Wongs Dragon Room 7126 University Avenue La Mesa, CA 91942 (619)464-9772

Brno: Lunch at Spalicek and a walk around Brno

August 31, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Czech Food and Restaurants, Czech Republic, Travel

How we ended up taking the Student Agency Bus from Olomouc to Brno was one of those wonderful "mistakes" that happen when you travel. We walked to a window that said "Tickets" in the Olomouc Train Station. We asked for tickets to Brno, which were pretty cheap. We came to find out that we'd gotten tickets on the famous Student Agency Bus. This popular "yellow bus" service was originally started as an au-pair agency and has grown and blossomed into the second largest road carrier in the Czech Republic. We really enjoyed our trip on the student bus, it was comfortable, free tea or coffee, not very good, but still nice, movies, and most importantly, free wifi!

Plus you get a nice view of the countryside.

We arrived in Brno as scheduled. For those who have never heard of Brno, it is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. and the Judicial Seat of the CR. To be honest, I had never heard of Brno before planning for our trip. I'm glad to have done a bit of research and we're glad to have visited Brno. The folks were very friendly, there's a somewhat quirky sense of humor in play here as I'll describe in future posts….we call this the "Brno twist". Every story never ends where it should seem to. I have one little tidbit below, but there's many of these examples we'd discover over our short time here.

We had rented an apartment in Brno. The wonderful owner Zdenek even picked us up at the bus station, I'm glad we took the bus as the train station looks kind of seedy. Zdenek got us situated perfectly, he pointed out the location of the Tesco, across the main street and under the train tracks; also noting that the "Cabbage Market" had moved temporarily while the main square was being repaired.

After unloading we headed out to explore and grab some lunch. We were right downhill from the city center. It seemed like a bit of a hike, but really wasn't as it seemed shorter every time. In the end we found even a faster way. We passed the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul on Petrov Hill, a major landmark that you can see from many places in Brno. It is also placed a very important part in the history of Brno. In 1645, during the Thirty Years War, Swedish Soldiers had surrounded Brno. Olomouc had already fallen in 1641. Field Marshall Torstensson believed that Brno would fall in a week, but the local citizens had been holding the Swedes off for three months. Torstensson, furious and frustrated, called his officers into a meeting at a tavern telling them, "Tomorrow we shall make our last attack on the city. Before the bells on Petrov strike noon, Brno must be ours. If not, we shall retreat." Unbeknownst to the officers in attendance, the owner of the tavern understood Swedish. On the 15th of August, the battle began, the Tavern Owner worked to get word to the defenders of Brno. Just as the Swedes were breaking though the Brno defense, the tavern owner got word to the French born German Imperial Field Marshall, Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches. Souches found the bellringer, an elderly man whom he ordered to ring the bells of the cathedral as if it was noon. The bellringer managed to make his way up the tower, severely damaged from cannon fire and rang the bells. The Swedish soldiers, thinking that it was noon and they had failed in their mission retreated….and Brno was saved! I'm not sure how much of this is true and how much has been embellished over the years…..but it was stories like these that really brought so much color to our visit to Brno. Oh, and ever since that day, the Petrov Bells ring at 11 instead of noon each day.

The main square of Brno housed a couple of the sights that we really wanted to see; the Cabbage Market, the Brno Underground, the Capuchin Crypt. Unfortunately, as you can see, there was some major construction and restoration going on….bummer.

We decided to just find something to eat. Spalicek is supposedly the oldest restaurant still in operation in the city. This seemed like a good place to start.

The place was empty except for two tables, which seemed ot be manned with students, all having soup.

The menu is multilingual, which is usually a warning sign, but we were later told that it is also a favorite of students and visitors to the University. Folks also come here to get more traditional style Moravian dishes. I will say the menu is quite meat heavy…H-E-A-V-Y.

While Bohemia is known for beer, Moravia is known for wine, so while I went for the local brew Starobrno (owned by Heineken), the Missus tried a white….which was much too bitter for Her liking.

I still hadn't been particularly impressed with various pilsners in the CR. This was the first that I really enjoyed; clean, fizzy, slightly grassy; this was a nice refreshing pilsner, with a bit of character.

One of the dishes I'd read about, but had not really seen on a menu was smažený sýr, fried cheese……yep, fried cheese. So of course I ordered this.

Three different types of cheese; the best one was a soft, semi-ripe cheese….which I was told is Hermelin. Served with something like a tartar sauce, this was fine, but nothing I'd order again.

Based on my previous posts, you know of our affinity for the pickled sausage known as Utopenci. So naturally, if it's on the menu, we'd be ordering it.

These were pretty good; not as sour as we liked, but it did refresh and had decent flavor. It also goes real well with beer!

We decided to share the traditional Czech Sampler – Starocesky Talir, which seemed to have every meat in the world.

If you're keeping score; roast duck breast (not bad, though on the dry side), roast pork neck (chewy, but good flavor), smoked sausage (good flavor, overcooked), and "ham" (smokey, great flavor, but really tough). Red and White Cabbage, which the Missus enjoyed….She's rarely had fermented cabbage She didn't like. I actually thought the bread dumplings were some of the best I'd had so far; it wasn't too dense or chewy.

To put things into perspective….this huge plate was about $14/US……. So you can't really be too disappointed. As we were eating large groups started coming in, so the place is popular with tourists. Service was nice, though a bit overwhelmed once they got busy. This is considered on the high side in terms of prices…..but man, compared to Prague…..

Restaurace Špalíček
Zelný trh 332/12
Brno, Czech Republic

After lunch we headed "down" to the area known as Freedom Square. This used to be known as the Lower Market and is the oldest square, dating back to the 13th century.

In spite of the drizzle, we enjoyed the wide open area….the tram (which we never needed to catch) goes right though the middle of the square.

You'll find quite a few interesting sites right around the square….among them, well, what else, the local Plague Tower.

This one was originally built in 1679.

In Freedom Square you'll notice a structure that looks out of place. It's this black "obelisk"…..which looks like something else……I'll let you're imagination work on this one.

This is a typical Brno "twist" story….. This is actually a modern astronomical clock, built to commemorate the Petrov Bells…which is why I wrote the story about it above. Everyday, at 11am, a glass ball comes out of the "clock" and rolls around the grooves in the structure which was built to resemble a rifle cartridge….BUT, in the typical "Brno twist" kind of way, it's called something else by many locals. Now this clock cost 12 million CZ, about $570,000 and you don't quite know where that glass ball is going to emerge from so many folks actually miss that part…… You gotta love it!

In spite of the weather, we kind of lucked out by being here….you'll see why in an upcoming post!

I know…1300 words+. If you hung around, I think you for reading!

Olomouc: Side trip to Kromeriz and lunch at Minipivovar Moritz

August 30, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Czech Food and Restaurants, Czech Republic, Gastropub, Travel

There are some benefits associated with staying in corporate style hotels…..many of them have pretty hefty, buffet breakfasts included.

The Missus and I went over the plan for the day over breakfast. Being right across the street from the train station also had it's benefits. We had decided to do a day trip to the city of Kroměříž, where the Archbishop's Summer Palace, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

We caught the train to Hulin, changing to a tiny little train which was more like a single car to Kroměříž. Exiting at the train station, we made our way up to the main square. Things were pretty quiet on this day…..

Except for some music….we followed the notes and were treated with a nice performance in front of the local museum. That kid on the left was really getting down….to traditional Czech Folksongs!

The main reason for coming here was to visit the Archbishop's Chateau and the gardens. Unfortunately, the gardens were closed because of all the rain.

So we decided to just have a short walk around, then head back to Olomouc. It was nice to just get out and about….once out of Prague, we found folks to be much more friendly, laid back, and things were much cheaper.

Then we headed back. The train trip was kind of funny because apparently there was some kind of glitch with our train transfer. The attendant on the train didn't speak any English and he tried so hard to explain to us what was going on. Folks here are friendly….all I had to say was "Olomouc" and one of the other passengers used sign language basically telling us to follow her….which we did, ending back up in Olomouc. We then got on the tram….right tram, wrong direction, to the amusment of the tram operator….who basically told us to just stay on. In other words we got the scenic tour. And ended up at our destination Moritz Microbrewery.

Like many similar type businesses, this was a basement type deal. On a wet, windy, and cold day, this was a cosy deal.

We had been pretty disappointed with the beer in the Czech Republic so far. But since we were at a microbrewery….

And we were pleasantly surprised, the 10° was quite refreshing, clean, mildly hoppy, but with nice floral-citrus to my palate. This was by far the best beer I'd had in the CR so far.

Being in Olomouc, well, we had to have the Hanácká česnečka – Garlic Soup.

Bitter and much too salty…..

Seeing what became one of our favorite items; the Utopenci, basically pickled sausage, one of the things we brought back with us. This was a bit too mild for my taste.

As I mentioned before, at places like this there are "lunch specials" which are really cheap, under five bucks US. The problem being, these specials are never written in English and even more interesting, in Olomouc they specials are written in Hanakian, the local dialect. For the Missus this was a challenge….She decided to randomly order something from the local menu and went ahead and chose something at random.

Which was this:

Basically pork and bread dumplings……. for about four bucks. I'm sure this would surely fill up the hungry local!

Tired of Gulas, I ordered ribs….which seemed so cheap at under ten bucks……kind of scary actually. I was shocked when this hit the table.

Man, this was like 3/4 rack of spareribs……..lightly seasoned, but with some smoke flavor. This really wasn't too bad…..could not even come close to finishing this.

We ended up taking most of this back to the room, having it for dinner.

Heading back to the hotel, we stopped by the Lower Square.

Which seemed so quiet…….

I'm not sure if it was the weather, or if this is normal…..

We'd be leaving in the morning, which is an interesting story itself. We enjoyed our stay in Olomouc, but were looking forward to our next destination.

Stay Tuned!

Olomouc: The Astronomical Clock, Turtle Fountain, St Wenceslas Cathedral, Svatováclavský Pivovar (St Wenceslas Brewery), and Museum Night

August 29, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Czech Food and Restaurants, Czech Republic, Gastropub, Travel

After lunch, my main objective was to catch the tram back to our dry, warm hotel room for a much needed siesta. The Missus however, had other plans, the clock was inching its way to high noon and the Missus wanted to see the "show"…..which, unlike what happens in Prague lasts a whole six minutes…which seems like 60 minutes in the wind and rain. It was just the Missus and I, plus about 4 (of 12) hardy, perhaps foolish, obviously tourists who actually stood and watch the parade of figures march by. The original clock was said to be the grandest in Europe, but it was destroyed by the Nazis in World War 2. This version was rebuilt by the Communist regime in 1953. So instead of apostles marching by, you get milkmaids, blacksmiths, teachers, chemists….good communists one and all!

So, while the clock in Prague had me humming "It's a Small World", this one was more like, "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to work we go….."

There are many fountains in the Upper Square area. most of them have characters out of Greek Mythology. There's one of Caesar, who is said to have founded Olomouc, though the city was once a Roman encampment, there's no documentation that Caesar actually ever visited in person.

But my favorite, is the Turtle Fountain right next to the Town Hall.

The turtle is said to represent Olomouc's ability to persevere. On its back resides a pillar on which there are etchings of maps and other documents. The fountain itself is called the Arion Fountain which actually depicts the story of a poet saved when thrown overboard by a dolphin and yes, there's a dolphin and I suppose the poet…..but it's the turtles I remember.

We did eventually make it back to our room and a short nap ensued. After which, the Missus was ready to get going. So we made the same walk we did earlier…….

This time around, in spite of the angry looking clouds, we took our time. We turned up a street and found St Wenceslas Cathedral. Not only is Olomouc a college town but the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Czech Republic is located here. It was established in 1063….. So a visit to St Wenceslas Cathedral just seemed to be the right thing.

The rather imposing Neo-Gothic Church was named after "Good" King (Saint) Wenceslas on the thousand year anniversary of his death in 1935.

Being the seat of the Catholic Church, there have been many esteemed visitors. Their visits have been documented on displays within the cathedral, Pope John Paul II (more on this later) and Mother Teresa (Matka Tereza) jumped out at me.

And while I'm a sorta-kinda agnostic-thiest, born Buddhist, raised Jehovah's Witness, grown to cynic…..I respect the beliefs of others.

I also find the history, as much as I'm willing to scratch, fascinating. And yes, those are photos of Mother Teresa's visit.

What seemed a bit strange to us, was, while Olomouc has a population of over 100,000 with an urban population of about 500,000, things just seemed mighty quiet.

We headed back up to the Upper Square area and it seemed almost abandoned.

The Missus also wasn't sold on my choice for dinner either…..and it became even tougher when we had to try and find the place. Which, we of course finally did, a non-descript simple building.

And yet, there seemed to be no activity. However, this was no sign of what was actually going on within St Wenceslas Brewery. As you walked to the door, you could hear the buzz of conversation. This was the largest concentration of people we'd seen in Olomouc so far!

Like most places in the CZ, you saw a table and went for it….then you ordered every single beer on the menu.

Which is what we did. And you should do as well. They do like a good "head" on their beer here.

Our server was totally awesome, he was friendly, kind, accommodating, and willing to let us try every beer they had. My favorite was the 12°, which, while not outstanding, had a distinct peppery bite to it. To be honest, we still hadn't had anything that got our attention.

So, how about the food? As I mentioned before, Moravia has its own specialties….and we were going to go for it!

First up; Hanácká česnečka – Garlic Soup. This seemed like canned beef broth…it was very salty.

Of course we had to try (again), the Olomoucké tvarůžky, you can read more about how this is cheese supposedly aged under meat, etc.

I was still scratching my head……….it really didn't have the "ripe" flavor I enjoyed in a cheese nad really seemed mild.

Though I did enjoy the pickled camembert.

The Utopenci, the pickled sausage known as "Drowned Man" was ok, less sour than we preferred.

In one of our favorite moments….the Missus asked our very friendly server if She could get and order of "just cabbage"…….really, all She wanted was fermented cabbage. Aiyah. The server said he's asked the kitchen…..and guess what?

She got Her plate of cabbage! Just for this; if we're ever back, we'd come here in a second.

Of course there was more beer…….

While waiting for our check we noticed a group of gentlemen wandering around looking for a table. Well, in the Czech Republic, it's "dining Darwinism" when it comes to that. I grabbed one of the guys and told them we'd be leaving soon….just hang on and we'd be done. It turned out that they were visiting professors from Chile! So, who know who you might meet at Svatovaclavsky pivovar?

Saint Wenceslas Brewery (Svatovaclavsky pivovar)
Marianska 4, Olomouc, Czech Republic

As we headed back to the hotel we noticed people…many more folks than we'd seen before, standing in lines. After looknig around a bit we found that it was "Museum Night" in Olomouc, where admission to various Museums were free. We couldn't help but indulge!

And while we enjoyed the dramatic displays at the Natural History Museum, our favorite photo was this…….

Giant Rodents looking at a kid who wants to be a giant rodent!

On the way back, we decided to stop by the Archdiocesan Museum, located next to the St Wenceslas Cathedral. This museum was built after Pope John Paul II's visit, when he asked the Archdiocese and the city to build a museum to document/celebrate its history.

We had a great time visiting the museums. What was quite apparent was the hospitality and pride of the locals. They obviously knew we weren't from these parts, but went out of their way to welcome us. Moravian pride and hospitality……..

Revisits: The High Dive, Kayaba, and Island Style Cafe

August 18, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Plate Lunch

Some revisits to start off the week.

Tonkatsu from Kayaba:

**** Kayaba has closed

I guess it’s strange that I go to a “food court” when I want my Tonkatsu fix.

But for under nine bucks, this tonkatsu is a favorite of mine in San Diego…….

Crisp, usually moist, love that mashed potato salad.

‘Nuff said.

Kayaba
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd Ste 119 – In the Mitsuwa Marketplace
San Diego, CA 92111

The High Dive:

So, the Missus has become a big fan of the Tap Hunter app. I guess She’s now an offical Beer Geek. Anyway, there are places that are real good at keeping Tap Hunter up to date and places that are kind of blase’…..Common Theory, I’m looking at you. For all its short-comings, mainly food-related, The High Dive seems to do a good job keeping things updated. Recently, when the Missus was busy with work, She noticed that one of our favorite beers, La Fin du Monde was on tap. I was ordered to head on down and report back post-haste.

And of course, when I arrived, it was there, poised and ready. There’s some flavors with “La Fin” that we enjoy, a mild fruit, with flavors that seem like clove and other spices, which make it fine match with spicy food for us. The flavors seem to go really well with anything I make with ghost peppers, strange as that may seem.

This draft version seemed a bit lighter without the spice notes. Maybe for the first time, I preferred the bottle to the tap….weird.

I Buffalo Wings were adequate and by the book. Nothing to make them stand out, but no complaints.

I thought it was a bit too heavy in the sour end and the wings were fried way past well done, but that would be nitpicking.

High Dive Bar and Grill
1801 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Getting my “loco fix” at Island Style Cafe:

It was time for my bi-annual locomoco fix……well, strangely, it would be the first “loco” I had this year. I’ve got some catching up to do! Anyway, I went with the Kaloko Loco at Island Style Cafe. A rather unconventional Loco Moco; usually I’m not a fan of fried rice for my loco and this one even has a crepe, but it all seems to work out for me.

Like my good FOY CAB says, there’s an interesting, yet complimentary interplay of sweet with savory going on that I enjoy. The eggs were overcooked for “over-easy” on this visit and I’ve kind of gotten used to jasmine rice so the calrose got my attention….I gotta head back home for an attitude adjustment soon! I think the burger here is still too tough and lean, but that’s nit-picking as this is still my favorite loco moco in San Diego.

Island Style Cafe
5950 Santo Road
San Diego, CA 92124

The Pint House in Yuma

August 16, 2014 ed fromyuma Beer, Burgers, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Kirk and Cathy get another day off – well at least a day off from posting here. Today Ed (from Yuma) is writing about a good place to slake a thirst in this desert community.

Being a very occasional blogger here at mmm-yoso, I sometimes feel plagued with bad timing. On two occasions, for example, I almost had a post about Mandarin Palace ready to go when the restaurant changed its menu or format, so none saw the light of day. Sometimes, I post about great places like Maria's Cocina, Mariscos El Navegante, or the crêpes truck that soon go out of business. While I was accumulating pictures of dishes at Grand China and then writing a post about them, Asian Star started up, took away most of the Chinese restaurant business in the area, and caused Grand China to close (It is now Yuma Palace). A while back I posted about Brewers, impressed with the six or eight taps of craft beer available there. About the time the Brewers post was up and running, the Pint House opened on Main Street and the beer scene in Yuma was transformed.

This recent beer list (August, 2014) shows why:

If you are counting, there are 52 taps of mostly craft beers, ales, and ciders. The list changes often, so if you see a beer that you've always wanted to try, you should probably order it because it may not be on the next list. Here's a Hoppy Bitch IPA:

A Kiltlifter Amber Ale:

And a Northwest Blood Orange Wheat Beer next to a Funkworks Saison:

This range of brews is truly amazing for Yuma, and the Pint House seems to be doing good business and keeping their beers fresh.

The bar and grill occupies the space on Main Street that was previously Carla Renée's and had been numerous other restaurants over the years:

Right next to The Old Town Wine Cellar, the Pint House is also accessible from Maiden Lane:

At that side, there is an outdoor seating area, not much populated during the days of summer:

The interior is nothing special:

The space is much like a sports bar, but patrons get to listen to music instead of blaring television sports commentary. In other words, it's easy to ignore the game/games and focus on the beverages and the food.

The menu includes numerous appetizers including some crispy crunchy fried calamari ($8.29):

Accompanied by a garlic aioli, these are a great beer snack – very crunchy, slightly salty, and not greasy at all. Of course, there is a lot more deep-fried crust than mollusk in each bite, so not my all-time favorite calamari, but still an addictive nibble.

Speaking of mollusks, another item we like as an appetizer is the pound of steamed clams ($14.29), drenched in a "boozy" garlic cilantro sauce accompanied with two large slices of crunchy bread:

The clams have always been fresh and not overcooked. The sauce is a little salty for my tastes, but it accents and balances the natural sweetness of the clams. It also makes a nice dipping sauce for the bread. (If you're looking for this on the menu, it is a "Pint House Signature" dish.)

The Pint House also has a range of salads. The wedge ($8.29) is a fine version of this old school iceberg lettuce treat:

Tina and I also like the garden salad ($6.29) – this is a split portion with ranch dressing:

Less to my taste is the side salad, here with the house raspberry dressing:

While the lettuce was perfectly fresh and cheese was okay, there wasn't much else going on in the salad and that raspberry dressing was nothing special. Truth be told, however, this picture is from several months ago, so it is possible that the side salad has morphed into something more interesting.

Alongside that ordinary side salad, sits one of my favorite menu items, the mushroom Swiss burger ($9.29):

The hand formed rich Angus patty is topped with melted Swiss cheese and generous layers of well grilled mushrooms. Very tasty.

Overall, I find the burgers and sandwiches to be the strongest parts of the menu. They all come with french fries or side salad, but you can upgrade to sweet potato fries or onion rings for a dollar extra. Here is a blackened chicken sandwich($9.99) with a side of onion rings (+$1):

Though the chicken breast slice was a little dry, the sliced tomatoes and avocados made this a good sandwich.

The onion rings, on the other hand, suffered from the same problem as the calamari – too much crunchy breading and not enough main ingredient. Each of those onion rings has one thin slice of onion only. Of course, the onion rings are great beer food; everybody loves hot, crunchy, and slightly salty snacks with beer.

On a good night, Tina and my favorite sandwich is the Cubano ($9.99):

A generous serving of flavorful shredded pork is enhanced with crunchy house pickles on top and a layer of cured meat (the menu says salami, but the sandwich this particular evening had pastrami:

Coupled with a garlic aioli on the top half of the baguette and mustard on the bottom half, the sandwich as a whole presents a very complex flavor profile – touches of smoky richness with contrastive tang and crunch. Really excellent.

The french fries, on the other hand, are pretty mediocre and generally soft, even though we ordered them extra crispy. Oh well.

Recently, the restaurant has added an extra page to the menu including items ranging from deep-fried bacon wrapped jalapenos to a caprese salad. Tina was instantly attracted to the blackened chicken salad wrap ($9.50):

This kind of chicken salad is the sort without mayonnaise. Served with a spicy salsa, it was basically a chicken Caesar salad wrapped in a flour tortilla. Tina liked it.

The Pint House also serves certain daily specials. A couple of times, I've been at the restaurant for Taco Tuesdays, where they offer a range of different tacos, including oyster:

The first time I had them, I thought they were incredible. The deep-fried oysters had been perfectly prepared so that their moist ocean funky flavor contrasted with the crunchy crusty batter. Even though the taco got pretty messy quickly, the flavors were amazing. Unfortunately on another occasion, the oysters were not as pristine, pushing that funkiness a little beyond pleasant.

On hotdog Mondays, a good range of excellent quarter pound all beef franks are served in a variety of ways. Here is a black and blue dog ($4):

Being old-fashioned, I had the chili dog ($4):

The chili was mildly spiced hamburger with onions and tomatoes, the whole dog topped with cheese and chopped onions. Maybe not the best chili I've ever had on hotdog, but the beefy sausage itself was excellent. And needless to say, excellent beer food.

The Pint House is a treasure. It makes me want to drink more beer – and clearly not just me. While the food items are somewhat hit and miss, a Yuma establishment with 52 taps, most pouring craft beers and ales, is a testament to the beer revolution that has been going on in this country for over 30 years. Sometimes my timing isn’t good, but The Pint House clearly has time on its side.

The Pint House, 265 S Main St, Yuma, AZ 85364, 928-782-0499, open daily 11 AM – 2 AM

Prague: Havelske Market, a walk along the Vltava River, and the Dancing House (Tančící dům)

July 26, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

So what does one do after a hearty and filling lunch accompanied with a liter of beer? Well, think about what we'd be having for dinner of course!

Actually, we had quite a bit of leftovers and decided to drop a place we passed early in the morning.

So we decided to dodge the raindrops on the way back to the apartment and see what the place had to offer. Havelské Tržiště (Havel's Market) is the oldest market in Prague, dating back to the 13th century.

Two-thirds of the market stalls seem to be dedicated to souvenirs, which looked pretty inexpensive compared to other places. Stalls at the other end are dedicated to mostly fruit, with some vegetables.

We managed to find some good cherry tomatoes and lettuce for dinner.

Back at the apartment, we did most of our packing, we'd be headed out to our next stop in the morning. After a short nap we decided to take a nice walk along the Vltava River. I just love the buildings in Prague……there's no uniform nod to any one style, which makes each structure unique.

There are a couple of islands in the Vltava River, the largest being Slovanský ostrov. The island was gradually formed by deposits from mills in the area. It is a pretty good sized island.

There actually was an objective to all of this. The Missus wanted to see the building named the Dancing House (Tančící dům). This distinctive structure was designed by Vlado Milunić and a very familiar name – Frank Gehry. I've been to two Gehry designed structures, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, so this made it a nice trio.

I guess it does kind of look like a couple dancing, thus the nickname, "Fred and Ginger". Perhaps tilting your head a bit brings a bit more life to the structure?

Well, maybe not…..

Having reached our destination, it was time to head back…..at this point, the Missus decided that we should have a last beer in Prague. So we found Minipivovar U Medvídků, a microbrewery owned by Budvar

The place was packed, so we decided to just grab a couple of beers to have after dinner.

The Oldgott Barique Ležak 13° seemed to be a higher alcohol version of the "half and half", half dark, half pilsner. The aroma was on the sweet side, but the beer was woody and bitter, not my favorite combination.

The X33 was basically a doppelbock, kind of funky, almost sour scent, foamy, but with a mild fruity initial taste.

Hm. We were still looking for something in the Czech Republic we liked. And we'd sure keep trying until we found it!

Prague: A little self catering and Wenceslas Square

July 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Cooking, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

We had intended on getting the the Charles Bridge from the Old Town Square but had ended up at the the Manesuv Bridge. As we headed down toward the Charles Bridge storm clouds could be seen above the Castle Quarter. Indeed, by the time we reached the very gothic Bridge Tower we could tell that it was going to start pouring. Umbrellas started opening and in a matter of a minute or two it started coming down….our little travel umbrella came in quite handy. As I started to walk toward the bridge, the Missus told me to wait, "let's go back to the apartment and save the bridge for early tomorrow morning…." So we turned around and crossed the street in front of the "Klementinum", the National Library.

We made our way down the side streets and suddenly ended up right in front of what became our major landmark and daily stop for us, the giant Tesco Department store.

After our heavy lunch, we decided to grab some head cheese, cheese, and makings for salad for dinner….and a couple of beers as well of course! The lower level of the department store houses a large supermarket with just about everything you would need.

Our apartment had a huge living and bedroom, plus a serviceable kitchen area. Our flat was on the third floor with a view of tiny Odburu Street below. We found the amount of "security" a bit over-the-top, the deadbolt on the door to the street was super heavy duty….it nearly broke your fingers to turn the key. Then, once in the building there was a security gate, which was heavy-duty, making me feel like we were headed into a super-max. The door had a knob lock, deadbolt, and alarm system. One can never be too secure I guess.

Nevertheless, the place was large, comfortable, and dealing with the folks at PVH Odburu was a joy. It was nice to be able to come back after a long day and hang out here. The location was great, not in tourist hell, but just a 15-20 minute walk from everywhere.

We've come to enjoy apartments when traveling, this one had a washer/dryer as well. Of course, we tried to take full advantage of the kitchen.

This was a nice, light, and satisfying dinner. Of course the Missus had to have Her cabbage. Later, on our return trip to Prague we found a decent specialty shop down the street with a better selection of charcuterie and cheese.

Having just been in Brussels, the beer in Prague had been a bit too "light" for our tastes. Though I bought this as sort of a novelty…..

I saw this and knowing the history just had to check it out. No, it's not who you think it is. You may think that Budweiser is an "All-American" beer, but there's been a fight over then name for 108 years. Anyway, České Budějovice (aka Budweis) is actually a city in the Czech Republic. You can imagine what an ugly trademark war has been taking place. I'm not sure you even know that Anheuser-Busch is actually owned by a Belgian Company, InBev. Well, whatever, this "Premier Select" was actually pretty good….it was in fact, the best beer we had in Prague our first time around. Light, but not "lightweight", mildly hoppy, with a sweet finish.

Dinner done, but with a good stretch of daylight still in front of us the Missus decided that She wanted to walk around a bit. The skies had cleared up a bit, so we headed out.

The Missus wanted to go back to Wenceslas Square, which is more like a boulevard that stretches from the National Museum to Na Prikope which basically borders the New Town and the Old Town.

It's a lively place, full of tourists and locals alike.

We loved the varying architecture, each building was unique, like snowflakes. Like the Art Nouveau Hotel Europa.

With all this historic architecture, it's easy to forget that "Czechoslovakia" was a Communist, single party government until 1989. From November to December of 1989, the event called the Velvet Revolution took place, with demonstrations and strikes leading to a transition from single party rule to a parliamentary republic. According to what I read, crowds of hundreds of thousands gathered here when it seemed that a new age was at hand.

It was on the balcony of Number 36 that Václav Havel and Alexander Dubček made their appearance signaling an end to single party rule.

We soon realized there's so much history here, that if/when we're back in the future, we'd look into getting a private guide and do this right.

There's a statue of Saint Wenceslas….yes it's Wenceslas I, aka "Good King Wenceslas". Which stands across the street from the National Museum, which was closed for renovation during our stay.

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Darkness started to fall as we headed back down the square. We paused to listen to the really talented guy playing what I believe is a Cimbalom. This dude was really good; he was jamming to the standard "Autumn Leaves" and doing some pretty good improvisation. The Missus thought it funny that I could recognize the music being played by street musicians and small bands.

There was one more place the Missus wanted to check out before heading back….yep, Old Town Square.

Though the crowds had thinned, there were still a good number of people milling about.

We then headed back and settled in for a nice night.

The place had great wifi, so I went ahead and did a post, and opened up the two beers I had gotten earlier at Tesco.

I really didn't care for either. Did you notice the "degree" values on the beer? No, it doesn't mean percentage of alcohol, rather, it's a percentage on the Balling Scale measuring the sugars in the wort before fermentation. There is an indirect correlation to alcohol content; a 12 degree beer will be stronger than a 10 degree beer, but the alcohol content of a 10 degree is about 3.5%.

We'd had a pretty busy day which led to a wonderful night of sleep. Which was good since the Missus had a busy day aplnned for us!

Thanks for reading!

Brussels: Shopping for dinner, “Chinatown?”, Pierre Marcolini, and Moeder Lambic

June 7, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgium, Brussels, Chocolate, Markets & Grocers, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

Lunch had been a wonderful, but pretty rich meal. Since we had an apartment, we decided to self cater dinner and dropped by a couple of the nearby shops.

Some nice cheese from the cheese shop, tomatoes, head cheese and prosciutto from the nice gourmet shop on Rue St Catherine. There's a good sized Delhaize Supermarket on Anspach where we picked up greens for a salad……we just needed some greens after all of this. And beer of course……

And so we headed back to the apartment with dinner all set. It would be nice to relax since we'd bee flying to Prague in the morning.

Funny thing, I hadn't even heard of a "Chinatown" in Brussels, but then we passed a short strip of Chinese restaurants and markets right across the Stock Exchange Building (the Bourse), so of course we had to check at least on of the markets out…..man, it was sticker shock.

Try almost 17 Euros for a small bag of frozen Jiaozi…..

The Asian vegetables seemed pretty scarce and did not look in very good shape as well…..

The Missus couldn't help but laugh when She saw this……

Man, it would be tough if we lived here……

We also checked out the menus and offerings of some of the Chinese Restaurants on the street…..

And decided to stop after seeing the 6,80 Euro ($9.25) price for 4 pieces of Shiu Mai…..then of course those places that serve Chinese-Vietnamese-Thai-Sushi……

We headed back to the apartment and took our usual afternoon nap, awakening a short while later. It was time for us to shake off our grogginess. The sun was out and wasn't scheduled to set until almost 10pm, so we headed back to Place Poelaert and the Upper Town.

We passed by several sections of Brussels' midievel city wall and Eglise Notre Dame a la Chappelle, which is Brussels' oldest existing church.

We got to the Marolles neighborhood and took the elevator up to Place Poelaert. All the rain and dreary weather had been chased away, it was now a bright and sunny afternoon. Too bad we were leaving the next morning.

The view from here when the sky is clear is quite nice. You get to appreciate Brussels….

We strolled around the Upper Town area, antique and designer shops, and some interesting cafes and restaurants as well. Love Joel Robuchon, not sure about his sushi though…..

My MIL loves chocolate….we were in Belgium, so we decided to get her a collection of chocolate from our travels….but not just ordinary stuff…i.e. Godiva, Neuhaus, Leonidas….no we'd try and get her a variety with a little meaning, not just the usual tourist stuff. It just so happens that Pierre Marcolini's flagship store was right along our path back to the apartment.

Winner of the 1995 World Cup of Pastry and known as a master chocolatier, this would be a good start for my MIL's collection. The variety of flavors and chocolates of various regions made this quite an interesting experience for us, which would suite us well later on.

The shop actually looks more like a fine jewelry shop, boutique, or gallery than a chocolate shop. So we made our first purchases for my MIL here.

I think it was a nice start…..

The day was so bright and beautiful, folks were out and about, the cafes (the beer cafes) seem to be doing great business with folks enjoying the weather. It was a perfect chance to check out the Fontainas location of the legendary Brussels' beer bar Moeder Lambic.

The Missus and I immediately loved the place….there are no airs…what few tourists who came in and stared in awe at the beer list of unfamiliar and familiar brews were treated graciously and there was harmony with the locals….who seemed to appreciate the fact that folks were making the effort to find the place…which isn't hard, but like Le Fin de Siècle, you pretty much either just run into the place or have to seek it out.

It's easy to just stare off into space at the listing of beers familiar and unfamiliar. The Servers were really nice with the 2 parties of tourists we saw….

The Missus and I, knowing how analysis-paralysis would be, just went for it. She ordered a Gueuze Tilquin and I a De Ranke Guldenberg.

We've had Tilquin here in the states, but this was a bit different; you could make a out a bit more fruitiness, though it was still pretty funky and puckery-dry. The Guldenberg was a nice tripel, a bit more hoppy than what I expected, with almost the feel of a boozy saison. A very nice beer. This place should be on any list if you're in the area and enjoy beer. We'd go to the original location of the Moeder Lambic on our way back, which we laso loved.

Moeder Lambic
Place Fontainas 8
Brussels, Belgium

It was a beautiful afternoon. On the way back to the apartment we passed a bar that had a street musician playing an electric violin, I wish I recorded it…….he started playing as we passed…I recognized the music right away. I Love Rock and Roll…..a Joan Jett classic! It seems like all the places we visited (in both the Czech Republic and Belgium) loved American and English music…whether rap, death metal (Moeder Lambic in St Gilles), Jazz, or good 'old Rock n' Roll. Honestly, I think it might be our greatest export. As the violinist hit the chorus, the entire street broke out and sang with unbridled joy and spirit:

"I love rock and roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby
I love rock and roll
So come and take your time and dance with me….."

It was just the cherry on top of the sundae for us…..ending a very nice afternoon.

We returned to the apartment we were staying at smiling. Like most of these type of units we've stayed at; there's no lift, the stairs can be narrow and somewhat steep. We were rewarded in that this was a single unit above a a gallery that was closed the two days we were staying there. There was also a wonderful, older cat named "Sushi", mellow and sweet, he was a good ambassador for the place. The bedroom and bathroom was on one floor with a kitchen nook above.