Beer – Page 6 – mmm-yoso

Vancouver/Richmond – The Alibi Room and the Richmond Night Market

June 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Chicken Wings, Desserts, Festivals & Events, Pubs and Pub Grub, Vancouver, Canada

After a nice afternoon nap, we headed off to the Gastown area.

It was a nice day to be out and about, if a bit on the warm side.

The Missus enjoyed window shopping and we stopped at a few places; like at Kit and Ace near the Steam Clock. Where this guy was hanging out.

It was indeed rather warm, so we headed down the street to a place named the Alibi Room. The place was pretty much full. But the nice Server told us that if we weren't eating anything and didn't mind not having table service, we could head on downstairs.

Which turned out to be a comfortable place to grab a few beers. There are over 50 pulls in this place. And they do half pours as well; which we appreciated.

What we had is lost to posterity, but I recall really enjoying the vibe.

A nice stop; we'll be back the next time we're in town.

Alibi Room
157 Alexander Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1B8
Canada

We needed to first catch the bus; then the SkyTrain to get to our next stop. We had day metro passes and I had the bus stop indicated on my phone. We found our stop and a guy who looked homeless came up to us. I immediately thought he'd be asking for some cash….but instead he told me, "sir, this bus stop has been temporarily moved to the street above." Thanksful, I offered him some money, but he refused, saying "this one is on me." Only in Canada!

We got off at the Bridgeport SkyTrain Station and followed the well marked signs.

So, we followed this group of people who were having a great old time and got to what looked like ticket booths and a gate. A really nice young man came up to us and asked us if we were customers of 'xxx' and had our customer number. We explained that we are from out of town and have obviously found the wrong entrance. The young man pointed across the way to a line of what looked like 200-300 people. He told us "that's the general admission line; this line is for 'xxx' customers, 'xxx' is sponsoring tonight's night market and if you have either a zoom pass or are one of their customers you can come in this way." Now, if I recall a the passes were like $25 a book, good for so many entrances, so that would be a waste. So we thanked him and were headed to the line when he asked us where we were from. We told him San Diego. In a hushed, conspiratory tone he told us to "wait here". A minute later he returned with two tickets. You are now officially customers of 'xxx', if anyone asks you if you are customers of 'xxx', make sure to tell them yes. What a nice gesture….you gotta love Canada.

The Richmond Night Market claims to be the largest Night Market in North America and I don't doubt this claim as the choices, and crowds are staggering.

Now, if you read the blog quite often, you know I'm way behind on some of my travel posts and our visit was during early August of 2016. The Missus had seen a bunch of stuff posting to Instagram……about a dessert…..She just had to have it.

The dessert "du jour" of that period of time was the Raindrop Cake (you can see Kirbie's recipe here). It's based on Japanese Mizu Shingen Mochi. And kind of looks like a breast implant if you ask me.

The Missus got Her confection and we took a seat.

And soon folks started coming around asking what this stuff was….we actually offered them a taste if they wanted one….but most of them just looked kind of, well, puzzled. Anyway, this was "meh", sugar water and agar…..I prefer just straight up Warabimochi coating in kinako to this.

Our table was next to the Prehistoric Park area and while taking a look at the photo of the T-Rex below, it wasn't the replica of the dinosaur that caught my attention; but the sign to right that said, "FanTuan Delivery, Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere"…..I don't think San Diego is included in the "Anywhere" though.

While the Missus went for the sweets; I had one place in mind.

Little Phnom Penh is famous for their Chicken Wings with Lemon and Pepper sauce. So I placed my order and watched them make my wings.

Notice that container with the spoon; the wings are fried, then mixed in a wok with garlic, scallions, and a spoon full of that mysterious white substance….which I'm fairly certain isn't only salt.

The wings are light, though not as crisp as I prefer, the garlic could be cooked a bit more; it's still on the bitter side. The wings are tender and moist, but I'm not a big fan of the lemon sauce; which tastes like bottled lemon juice with black pepper. Still, this was good overall.

There sure was a huge variety of "stuffs" available…….some quite interesting.

This seemed more "County Fair – Carnival" than Night Market and the place was starting to get packed.

As we wove our way around people; we heard this guy……..voice like an old fashioned Carnival Barker, with a Chinese accent of course.

As we walked up; the smell of cumin danced in the air……we both love yang rou chuan and this guy cracked us up.

We got lamb and lamb kidney and while not great, this was pretty tender, though it could have used more cumin.

This "Chef James" had me wondering who he was. If you'd like to find out his story you can read it here.

Overall a fun time for us.

Richmond Night Market
May – October
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC V6X 1Y4
Canada
Fri-Sat 7pm – MN
Sun 7pm – 11pm

By the time we got back to the apartment, the sun had set. It was a beautiful clear night. We finished the rest of the Roast Duck and Rice and I cracked open a brew…..

And sat in the Solarium of the apartment watching the weekend action on the Street below.

Life was good…..

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Toronado, Hess Brewing, And Tribute Pizza

June 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Pizza, Pubs and Pub Grub

The Missus's hairdresser now works in North Park. During the last two months, the Missus has asked me to drop Her off….lucky me! There's no shortage of places where I can, ahem, "pass the time" while waiting for the Missus. Like……

Toronado:

**** Toronado has closed

It's been a while.

Had a nice New Belgium Le Terrior. Perfect temperature…..

Toronado
4026 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

The most recent time, it was…..

Hess Brewing:

It had been a couple of years since I'd been here as well.

A nice 8 West on a rather warm day.

Hess Brewing Company North Park
3812 Grim Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

And in case the Missus is hungry after getting Her hair done. Well there are a lot of options here as well. Like a recent favorite of Hers….

Tribute Pizza:

On this day, the pizzas were much better than on previous visits……

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104

I think I'm going to make sure the Missus goes in for a trim on a regular basis!

Vancouver – The Capilano Suspension Bridge, Anime Revolution, and Other “Stuffs”

May 13, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Caffeine Fix, Canada, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

Night seemed to fall rather suddenly as we walked back to our AirBnB after dinner at Miku. We decided to stroll around a bit and since we had just arrived that afternoon, familiarize ourselves with the surrounding area.

One thing we found interesting was that there was an H Mart on the corner of the block we were staying on. In the middle of downtown!

Something I'd imagine in, say Seoul, but not here.

I decided to relax by having a beer and there was a liquor store a block or so down the street. We decided to stop and see what they had to offer.

And this is where we really started noticing we were "in Canada". One of my coworkers loves to make Canadian jokes…..not joking about lack of cognitive ability, but joking about how nice Canadians are. As I noted in my first Vancouver post, my good friend married a Canadian, and my first trip outside of the state of Hawaii was to Canada for his wedding. I've seen the good natured "niceness" first hand. As much as it seems to be a stereotype, I'd say it's true. So what does that have to do with this liquor store? Well…..let me tell you:

So we're looking over the local beer selection and I pick something out. I walk to the register and the guy behind the counter waves at one of the "customers" in the store and tells him; "sir….sir, please leave. You always steal from us, so please leave." The guy, replied in a rather high pitched irate voice while lifting his shirt, "no….no…..I never steal from you…..how dare you!" And continues mumbling as he exits the shop. The guy then sighs and tells me, "I don't know how many times we've caught him stealing from us." I pay for my beer and get handed my change when a guy walks in with a bottle of wine in his hand, passes it to the cashier and says, "I saw a gentleman walk out of your store and pull this out of his pants, so I made him give me the bottle." The Missus and I couldn't stop laughing. How do you think the first part of this would play out in San Diego? "Please leave?"

Anyway, the Strange Fellows (I thought it strangely appropriate on this evening) Jongleur Belgian Wit, was light, citrusy, perhaps a bit too sweet, but we both enjoyed it as a nightcap. And I'd be stopping by Viti's Wine and Lager again.

Viti Wine and Lager Liquor Store
900 Seymour St
Vancouver, Canada

The next morning we got up bright and early. The Missus wanted to check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge. and even though there's a free bus from downtown Vancouver, we decided to take the SeaBus to North Vancouver, then take Bus #236.

But first, some coffee.

We decided to stop at this little shop as we headed to the Waterfront Station.

The guy working here was super friendly and chatty.

As we were waiting for our my Americano, he shouted out, "look….look…..all the crazy people are coming out!" We turned and saw folks dressed like Star Trek characters walking down the street. We get Comic-con down here, so the Missus and I shrugged.

Nice place, though all the coffee comes in take-out cups I guess.

Mario’s Coffee Express
595 Howe St
Vancouver, Canada

We got to the Waterfront Station, we had already bought a Daypass, which made all the ferries, trains, buses a breeze.

I enjoy travelling by ferry whenever we can, it gives us a different view of the cities we're staying in.

This one was a very short 15 minute ride.

From there; finding the bus and getting to the bridge was a snap. It was a bright and sunny day; so we knew we'd be enjoying ourselves. Admission ain't cheap; if I recall about $40 per person. But heck, we're on vacation. I bought the tickets ahead of time online.

The bridge itself was originally a hemp rope and cedar planked footbridge built in 1889 by George Grant Mackay. It has since been reconstructed several times; the last I could find was in 1956.

The place was already getting busy when we arrived.

The bridge does give you a slight thrill as it will sway back and forth and the views….well, at least for us, they were great.

There are different "attractions", like the "Treetop Adventure" which takes you above the forest floor.

And the Cliffwalk, a walkway attached to the face of, well, a cliff…..

Beyond all of that; it was just nice to get out and enjoy the sights and sounds……

We enjoyed exploring, but soon enough, it started getting crowded. The speakers over the bridge started blaring messages to not rock the bridge and so forth. It was time to head back.

So we exited and headed out and over to the bus stop. When, in typical Canadian style, one of the young ladies waved us over. She told us that the free shuttle back to the Waterfront was leaving in just a minute, so why not catch that instead of the bus and ferry? You gotta love it!

Back at the Waterfront, the Missus wasn't very hungry yet, so we decided to enjoy the sights……well, these "sights"!

Well….why not?

These folks sure seemed to be in their "element" and having a blast.

I always wonder what their coworkers think? Reminds of once going to a Kiss concert and a woman tapped me on the back as I left. I didn't recognize her until she spoke because of all the gear and make-up. I was shocked, she was one of the toughest, hard-a$$ managers I had to work with…and part of the Kiss Army! You know; I never looked at her the same again……

By now, it was getting kind of warm and the Missus was getting hungry. It was time to grab some lunch.

Thanks for reading!

Kyoto – Catching up with one of my favorite Food Bloggers (and friends) at Okariba and Beer Komachi

March 10, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Kyoto, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

One of the great pleasures I've had over the years has been meeting up with other like-minded Food Bloggers….and at the top of my list is Kat from Our Adventures in Japan. We had met before in Osaka and on this trip, we wanted to make sure to touch bases again. This time, I chose the somewhat quirky; kinda country, rustic "Hunting Ground", Okariba which we really enjoyed the last time in Kyoto.

We had a nice walk over and met Kat and Satoshi. The place was much more busy than on our last visit.

And we spent a good deal of time catching up on things and just having a good time.

After all, places like this were made for friends gathering, sharing "pupus".

You can read all about this in Kat's post….and it also shows how far behind I'm at with my travel posts as well!

So from here on; it's most it's mostly photos.

Man, I love basashi…..

At the end of the meal, we gave the owner some Mac Nuts….even though we were sure he wouldn't remember us, he'd given us so much samples on our previous visit, we wanted to make sure to show him our appreciation…so of course he busted out the home made ume-shu……

Okariba
Okazaki Higashi-Tennocho 43-4, Residence Okazaki 1F
Kyoto

After dinner, we had a nice nightcap at another familiar place; Beer Komachi…….lot's of tourists and such….but with the San Diego beer connection menu….

It was a fun stop.

And I think it's a great reminder for Kat and Satoshi……….you can always come out here for a visit too!

Thanks for such a great time K&S!

The Bitter Brothers Annversary Family Dinner

January 23, 2017 mmm-yoso Beer, Fine Dining, Pubs and Pub Grub

*** Bitter Brothers has closed

I've been asked a couple of times why I don't give "more love" to my neighborhood? To be perfectly honest, I hadn't been too inspired by places in my neck of the woods. But over the last year and a half or so; things have changed for the better…who'd have thunk that we'd go out for a New Years dinner; a tasting menu even….right down the street. So when Candice mentioned that Bitter Brothers was having an Anniversary Dinner; I decided to go for it. And I'm glad I did as it was quite an enjoyable event. I'd been to Bitter Brothers a couple of times, but always regret not visiting more often. So this was a nice way for me to get reacquainted.

There were just 50 seats available at $70 a crack, and things started fairly promptly at 5pm. Though at first it was just folks mingling. I'm not really a super social kind of guy so I just kinda took things in; perhaps a bit too hard, because I missed my chance at the amuse; a version of Lumpia Shanghai. That's ok; I did enjoy the Czech Pilsner. Crisp and refreshing, it did remind me a bit of what we had during our time visiting the Czech Republic.

What might be my favorite dish of the night was the Porcini Dusted Cauliflower, I loved how all of the flavors went together so well; from the hazelnuts, to the celeriac, to the slightly acidic, yet very tasty homage to celery a la Grecque.

The Missus surely would have loved this dish by Tim Kolanko. This was served with one of my favorites here; the Brotherly Love Dunkelweiss.

Phillip Esteban's dish was an eye catching version of the rolled and tied chicken Ballotine. Instead of forcemeat, this was stuffed with a black garlic based mixture. I'm not a big fan of items on the plate without a purpose; and those dollops of what I'm assuming is sort of a Nasturtium pesto really had no flavor. And the buttermilk leche de tigre added no real acid to the dish. The chicken itself was a bit on the salty side; but the black garlic paste added a nice amount of sweet, complex tones, which really balanced things out. This was paired with the Black Sheep Coffee Porter on Nitro.

Ami Cisneros's dish was a beautiful version of….well, Carnitas.

Pressed and nicely seared; perhaps a bit too lean for my taste, it was nicely seasoned. The kabocha puree was quite rich, creamy, and slightly sweet. To be perfectly honest, I really loved the pear with chamoy and tajin. It went so well with the Prickly Pear Family Tart Berliner Weisse, which almost tasted like a version of agua de sandia (watermelon agua fresca) paired with this dish. I even enjoyed the slice of black radish which was so crisp and had some of the pepperiness toned down….I'm thinking it must have been soaked in ice water for a bit before being dried.

My next dish was a sentimental favorite; since it was created by the one and only Travis Clifford; remember Travis likes food? Anyway, it was nice to see him cooking again….it's been a while since I've tasted his cooking. Funny thing; I've made a career out of being quite non-descript. I'd been to BB a couple of times and had actually spoken to Travis, but I'm fairly certain he doesn't remember me. I kind of like it that way.

Nicely blackened prawns; loved the "Travis made" Andouille, great texture, good smoke. The flavor of the grits, while they had hardened by the time it hit the table had a nice rich and sweet flavor from the marscapone. All of these big flavors were tempered with the Big Brother Double IPA.

I'm not a big dessert/sweets guy and was worried about the Espresso Crème Brulee made by "Bitter Bill" Warnke. I shouldn't have, this was not too sweet, but very nicely balanced with mild coffee tones.

Paired with a nice bittersweet chocolate and espresso sable, which was just perfect. Very good, grown-up flavors. This was paired with the deceptively boozy (only 5.2 abv) Barrel Aged Little Sister Russian Imperial Stout which made it a nice way to end the meal.

The Barrel Aged Little Sister Russian Imperial Stout is BB's first ever bottle release; so I bought a couple. The Missus will love it. And I'm sure to be there the next time BB has another "Family Dinner".

Bitter Brothers Brewing
4170 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Tokyo – Otakou Honten and a Visit to the Hitachino Brewing Lab

November 25, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Pubs and Pub Grub, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel

It was getting close to lunch hour by the time we finished our nice walk around the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace and we were ready for something to eat. It was drizzly and a bit chilly. I'd heard about a Oden place with a fairly long history (opened in 1923). So after a bit of searching we found Otakou Honten. We'd actually walked pass here on our first night, but the line was so long that ended up having ramen instead.

There wasn't a line when we arrived and we were lead upstairs, where things did look rather busy. We got the last booth in the place and placed our orders.

It's quite simple; there were two Oden sets available for lunch, each about 680 yen and we ordered one of each.

Boy did this hit the spot.

That simmered daikon had really absorbed the flavor of the broth and was perfectly tender; not falling apart, but so easily cut with a chopstick. Our favorite item was the Toumeshi; indeed this is called the toumeshi set and I can see why. That tofu had absorbed the savory-sweet-dashi based flavor so well and rice was also a great vehicle for passing all of that. Simple, but just wonderful.

The Missus ordered the other Oden set which was quite good as well.

This was just the perfect thing for day like this. Then a kind of interesting thing happened….I'm guessing it's fairly common given the crowded nature of Tokyo.

The Missus and I were sitting across from each other in the booth. Two salarymen came in and sat down right next to us in the booth!

So now we were kinda trapped! The Missus and I looked at each other and cracked up. And we couldn't help but text each other our observations; especially when a couple of pieces of rice got stuck on one of the men's face….it kept moving around while he ate, but wouldn't fall off, and was quite mesmerizing!

Actually they were quite nice. When they noticed we were finished, they both stood up and waved us through. So, I guess this is fairly standard eating in Tokyo!

There was a line of people waiting outside in the rain as we left. I walked across the street to take a photo, and wouldn't you know; that line extended across the street!

It's easy to understand why folks would wait in the rain for this place. Good, comforting food at an inexpensive price. And it sure did hit the spot on a day like this.

Otakou Honten
2-2-3 Nihonbashi
Chuo, Tokyo

Feeling nice and warm, our bellies full, we headed off in the drizzle to our next destination. I really enjoy the beer that Hitachino produces and had read that they had opened a beer bar in the Akihabara. I recommended going on the Yamanote Line from Tokyo Station, it's like a 4-5 minute ride. But of course this is the Missus; so we walked.

It turned out to be about a 30 minute walk. The Brewing Lab is located right on the Kanda River.

It's a nice cozy little place and very quiet during this time of the day as there was only one customer the whole time we were there.

There were 8 pulls on this day and we ended up getting 4 beers; even Session IPA. We ended up with the Masters Selection, Nipponia, Weizen and the Nest Lager.

The Lager was my favorite; while the Missus enjoyed the Weizen. Man, Hitachino makes some really good stuff. If you're in the area; this might be a good stop.

Hitachino Brewing Lab
1-25-4 Kandasudacho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Soon enough, it was time to go. And this time the Missus relented and we caught the train back to Nihonbashi. We had some time to do a little shopping; then head back to the apartment for a short nap before meeting Reiko for dinner.

A Day Trip to St Emilion and Dinner at Saveurs D’Aquitaine

September 3, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Bordeaux, Fine Dining, France, Travel

After a relatively relaxing day in Bordeaux, the Missus decided that we should take at least one day trip. I thought a nice 40 minute train ride into the village of St Emilion, which, in addition to claiming to being the oldest wine producing area in Bordeaux (dating back to Roman times), the village is a World Heritage Site.

Getting off the train, you immediately know what the cash crop here is……

You are engulfed by grape vines……

The walk to the village from the train station was about 15 minutes.

We had decided to arrive fairly early and the streets were sedate, it was quite charming. There were basically no one on the sometimes narrow street as we wound our way up the hill. I guess it wasn't quite "wine o'clock" yet.

There are two distinctive landmarks in the village. The first is the Chateau du Roi, which is located on the hill west of the center of St Emilion.

According to what I read, this used to be the King's Castle and dates back to the 13th century. You can buy tickets to climb to the top, but since it was early the place wasn't open yet.

From here, you can view the rooftops of most of the village and get a nice glimpse of the other major landmark of St Emilion; the Eglise Monolithe, Saint Emilion Monolithic Church.

We were even more impressed after taking a tour….more on that in a bit.

We headed back down into the lower part of the village, then back up the narrow streets until we arrived at Place des Creaneux. This is where the TI office is located. They had just opened. We asked for maps and some other recommendations. As with our other experience at the TI in Sarlat, the young lady here was amazing; such a joy to deal with. She asked us if we'd "like to see a very interesting part of St Emilion that is not open to the public?" And we said, "of course"…..so she booked us for "Underground St Emilion"…the first tour, which started at 1030.

This meant that we had about forty minutes of so to kill, so we wondered around a bit. Around the corner from the TI is the Eglise Collégiale, the Collegiate Church. The Romanesque styling means this church has been around for quite a while.

The cloisters, built in the Gothic style is what this church is known for.

It was quite amazing to have a place like this all to ourselves.

It was getting close to the time of our scheduled tour. So we needed to get to that plaza below us. The way down was rather steep and we passed through a gateway; the Porte de la Cadene. There was a very rustic (and old) wooden structure next to the gate, I was told that the name of the gate is derived from "catena", which meant chain. Apparently, there was once a chain which controlled access to the main square of the town at this gate.

There a quite a few questions about the existence of this gate and structure; since it was within the village, why was there a "chain/gate" here? Who was being defended and/or protected? Who doesn't love a little mystery?

We were told to wait for our tour in front of the "three windows".

The tour itself was quite good. We got to learn a bit about the history of St Emilion, which is named after a monk, named, well Emilion, of the Breton Priory, who fled to this area to escape persecution from the Benedictine Order. He settled in a cave, dug out of the hillside that is now St Emilion. During the 45 minute tour, we visited what was (supposedly) his bed, carved out of bedrock, visited catacombs, and we saw paintings within the Trinity Chapel, done in the 13th century. The most impressive thing to us was seeing the amazing "church" carved out of the stone. There were huge devices which looked like they were used to stabilize the ceiling. It was quite amazing….as this all started as a cave carved out by a single monk. What was more surprising….is that we exited by a door near those three very windows where we first gathered. Who knew what lay behind them!

Even though our tour was in French, the young lady also spoke English so we really got a lot out of our time. Highly recommended!

It was still fairly early, so we decided to head back to Bordeaux. And while the train was rather late….there was an interesting conversation I had with a nice gentleman who told me that the "French are very detailed oriented, like the Japanese"….after which I told him, "however, if the trains ran as late in Japan….you know, heads would have rolled….", which got a nice laugh.

Getting back to Bordeaux, we caught the tram and got off near Cours de l’Intendance.

It was for me to "payer le prix promis"…..to go ahead and "pay the promised price" to the Missus. I had told Her that She could get whatever scarf She wanted from Hermes whenever we visited France (this, BTW has changed and gotten a bit more pricy). and so, the Missus got the scarf of Her choice….after all, love is priceless, no?

We had decided to finish up the eggs and cheese we had purchased the day before for lunch. But, we had seen some interesting beer in St Emilion….I know, we went to one of the great wine producing areas of France and bought some beer……which isn't even from the area. But the Missus still had another bottle of Her Chateau de Grand Moulin, so why not try these?

The Biere de Ferme Truffle was kind of weird….it had an strange off taste, little foam, kind of weak……fragrance of truffle, but the flavor is very difficult to describe.

The Ambree, on the other hand was very good…nutty and on the sweet (very Belgian) in flavor, I found it to be quite pleasant to drink.

We had a nice short nap, then it was off to dinner. The destination was close by. I'd read about a shop called Saveurs D' Aquitaine, which specialized in small dishes of local ingredients….the highlight being truffle. Since it was just a few blocks from where we were staying, we stopped by before leaving for the Dordogne and made dinner reservations for our last night in Bordeaux. So this was to be our last meal in Bordeaux. On the way to the restaurant, we ran into a woman who was lost, and insisted on me trying to help her….really! It was like some scene from a reality show…..me….trying to help some poor French woman…who kept speaking to me in French. Finally, she got the clue, and started cracking up at the strangeness of the situation.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it was strangely closed. Soon after, a young lady arrived and opened the doors. So here's what happened; the young lady who took our reservations, didn't know that the chef was booked for another event on the day we requested. The folks at the restaurant tried to get in touch with us….but hey, we didn't have pocket wifi this time around and where we were staying didn't give out customer info…appropriately so.

They could have easily closed us out…..but instead, we had a small private dinner for two….albeit, simplified and prepped ahead of time, by a very, very, nice young lady….I could not get a grasp of her name….so she said to call her "Vic"!

And so, while there were quite a bit of truffles present for dinner…..it didn't quite raise our sails….this was a very special meal….

The restaurant could have easily locked us out….it would have been totally acceptable. But instead, they went ahead and prepped us our own little special dinner. Which if not amazing, was still quite special. '"Vic" made the meal, as we got to talk about how life is in Bordeaux, and life in general……she was the highlight……and I'm hoping she is doing well in Bogota, which is where I understood she was headed after graduation.

In a way, this might have been our best meal in Bordeaux. Perhaps one day we'll return and actually have proper meal here.

Saveurs D' Aquitaine
16 Place des Quinconces
Bordeaux, France

As we took our final walk around the city….this joyfully unpretentious locale….I wondered, as I stared at the mesmerizing "head" by Jaume Plensa…..

What will I do the next time I'm here……

Spice & Soul

August 30, 2016 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Salads

**** Spice & Soul has closed

Back in December I noticed that Oasis Restaurant and Lounge had been replaced with Spice & Soul Kitchen + Tap. Oasis, with a bit of a strange combination of food items, plus drinks, plus hookah, just didn't seem to fit in well with the Bay Park/Bay Ho neighborhood, and never gained traction. I decided to drop in on one evening.

I basically dropped by for some grub and a couple of beers and sat on the bar. I like the set-up; small bar, casual dining area, and porch. Decent beer list and the guy who owns the place, I believe his name is Steven, was quite friendly, as was the staff.

I saw Salt and Pepper Wings ($9.50) on the menu and ordered that. It came with two sauces; I chose the Smoked Harissa Aioli and the Blue Cheese. I found the wings to be a bit odd…..it was quite apparent that they were grilled first, then lightly dusted, before the deep fry.

Not my favorite version of wings; these were on the dry side, more flakey than crisp, though the Harissa Aioli was pretty good. Just kind of strange overall.

What I did enjoy were the Crunchy Chickpeas ($4). Basically seasoned fried and roasted garbanzos which were nicely seasoned.

Crunchy, nicely seasoned, great flavors, awesome bar food.

A couple of weeks later, I couldn't decide on dinner, so I stuck close to home and dropped by S&S again. This time I ordered the House Smoked Brisket ($14) which was served as a sandwich on brioche with 2 side salads.

Not my favorite rendition of smoked brisket as this wasn't very smoky, was dry, the texture was also on the mealy side. Frankly, I don't think this was "smoked" in the traditional manner.

The coleslaw was better than the quinoa and rice which was very bland.

The brioche roll had been grilled nicely and the portion size was very generous.

Still, not a great meal in my book. A few weeks later, I decided on a "tie-breaker" and dropped by again.

This time I was pretty hungry so I ordered the Pork Chop ($15), which was very large.

It arrived, oil bubbling, nicely charred…like overhead broiling with something like a salamander had been used. It was nicely seasoned with the coffee and ancho rub that really didn't do well on the brisket. Here, it really tasted great. In fact, this didn't need the compound butter, as it was surprisingly moist for a fairly lean chop. The shoestring fries were nicely fried and crisp, I think they make their own ketchup here as it tasted quite good. The roasted veggies were on the bland side though.

After this meal; I decided to return and retry what I'd had on my first visit; the wings and chickpeas.

Though the wings were better; they didn't look to be grilled then dusted and fried anymore, they are still not crisp enough for me.

Those Chick Peas were still great though…..

And that should pretty much be it, right? Well, I just kind of let these photos languish, and wouldn't you know it, I went back to S&S yet again. This was during a fairly hot spell; so I got the S&S Wedge Salad, which I really enjoyed; simple seems to be the rule here, and even got a side of the brisket.

The wedge of iceberg was fresh and it wasn't over dressed. The dressing was fine, and who doesn't love some bacon to add some savory saltiness to the dish? The brisket was better this time around; more moist, you could make out the flavor of the ancho-coffee rub……you can just tell by the color that it was much improved. It's still not a favorite of mine, but it was better.

It was about time for a post…..but for some reason, I never got around to it. So in the meantime…guess what? Yep, another visit. I wanted those Crunchy Chickpeas, but it was no longer on the menu. Steve did tell me that it is served on the Crispy Kale Salad ($7), which is what I ordered.

The kale was indeed roasted…it almost looked deep fried, which brought out a mild sweetness, no issues with the romaine, nor the dressing which was a nice, light, vinaigrette. It was nicely dressed and of course I enjoyed the crunchy chickpeas and even the pickled onions. I'm usually not a fan of fruit in my salad, but in this case I did rather enjoy things.

The beer list here is pretty good….nothing too exotic, but solid with a nice rotation. I've had Almanac's Saison Dolores, Duckfoot Honey Ale, and those solid regulars from breweries we all know; Alesmith, Ballast Point, Modern Times, and even Bitter Brothers. Honestly, S&S won't make me forget Tiger Tiger, hmmm, we haven't been there in a while; or even Blind Lady. Still, it's great to see places like this opening in our neighborhood. I remember when Bay Park Fish and Baci were the only reasonable choices. Now we've got some choices….and with Red Card opening (a post is forthcoming), things in Bay Park have come a long way since we moved here.

Spice & Soul
4033 Avati Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

Vancouver – Dinner at Miku Restaurant

August 14, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Seafood, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel, Vancouver, Canada

We took a short nap after our poutine lunch. It was pretty warm in Vancouver and the sun didn't set until 9pm, so having dinner fairly late (for us) sounded like a great idea. Upon waking and freshening up, we decided to take the long way to dinner. So we headed Southeast on Robson, then down Richards, and back onto Georgia, where we came across this impressive structure.

This is the Vancouver Public Library. I loved the distinctive design. From here we took a left down Cambie Street, the neighborhood started looking a bit more gritty, though still much cleaner than Seattle.

This is the Cenotaph in Victory Square.

The main reason for walking down Cambie Street was to view the Gastown Steam Clock. I pointed to it as we headed down the street. At first the Missus said, "that's so puny, what's the big deal?" Until we walked up to it and She saw puffs of steam coming out of the top of the clock.

For some reason She was smitten as were a good number of tourists. This being "Gastown", the steam clock might seem to be a remnant of some bygone era. This was actually built in 1977. Gastown much like Pioneer Square in Seattle is the oldest neighborhood in the city. It has all of the kinds of things that these type of neighborhoods have; tourist shops, boutiques, bars, restaurants, and a good number of homeless. Still, the Missus really enjoyed the character of this neighborhood and we'd return to visit Kit and Ace and Lululemon….and even walk down Alexander to the Alibi Room. But that's for another day.

We walked to the waterfront, the views were quite nice, the air clean and crisp. Looking away from the water, here's a photo of Harbour Centre.

I had made reservations for dinner at Miku and we were trying to find the entrance. There was quite a bit of construction going on and the signs pointing to Miku lead to a locked door. A nice young man saw us and asked, "are you looking for Miku?" How the heck did he know? Anyway, he provided some directions and we found ourselves at the quite busy Miku Restaurant.

I gave my name to the hostess at the stand, who looked, frowned, and asked us to wait a second. A few minutes later, a very nice young man came up to us, and introduced himself as Kevin. I believe he was managing the front of house. He was so pleasant, shook our hands, then told us that they'd missed something on our reservations. I'd requested their kaiseki dinner when making reservations and immediately had reservations about doing so. Kevin explained that they would do the best they could to put together something for us, but I told him not to worry, we'd be perfectly happy ordering from the menu. He smiled and said, "great……I'll make sure that you both get one of the best tables we have!"

I saw this fellow waiting for his mom or dad outside Miku while we waited for our table to be prepped.

Poor guy. Folks kept taking photos or trying to comfort him, but he wanted nothing except his owners. He was adorable.

We loved the view from our table.

In case you're wondering if Miku was one of these touristy, overly fusion, pan-Asian, type restaurants…..you might be partially right. You see Miku is owned by the Tora Corporation headquartered in Miyazaki, Japan. I believe they own a number of Kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) and Aburi/Oshizushi type restaurants in the Miyazaki area. I was quite intrigued by a aplce specializing in aburizushi. I've had a nigiri or two of aburi sushi at a number of places, including Urasawa, though in most American style sushi joints it's kind of a gimmick.

Anyway, we were on vacation…in Vancouver….it was time to relax and have a cocktail….or two.

There were a few interesting custom cocktails along with some standards like a Moscow Mule and Pisco Sours…which I ordered. The Missus looked at me and told me to "not be so boring…." So I relented.

The Missus ordered the Genmai's Tea, which included green tea infused vodka and cucumber. It was fine, but nothing special. I ordered the Shiso Mojito which we both love….shiso was a natural for a mojito, as this tasted so clean…..it also seemed fairly low in alcohol as well. Delish!

We started with the Aburi Beef Carpaccio, which was everything we expected and more.

The torched beef was very beefy in flavor and the texture was fantastic. The sousvide egg added a wonderful creaminess and the yolk tasted delicious. Nice, not too sour ponzu, with a mild kick. The Missus felt that the baby greens was a bit of overkill, detracting from the overall flavors of the dish; though the Asian Pear added a nice mild sweetness and crunch, like in a good Yukhoe.

The Missus had never had Tori Nanban, which I thought was kind of strange….but thinking back, I usually order the stuff for lunch. So I decided to get that.

I was surprised at how much She enjoyed the rice vinegar tones and mild sweetness in this, though She could easily leave the tartar sauce out. The chicken was light and crisp outside, very tender and moist. I was told that they get their poultry from Fraser Valley Chicken in BC. Very nice.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Oshizushi on the menu at Miku. As I've mentioned before, oshizushi is a bit of a specialty. There are three aburi versions here at Miku; Salmon, Ebi, and Saba. Now for me, Battera is the classic pressed sushi. The Missus isn't the biggest fan of saba as in most places it's oily and fishy….though for some strange reason She loves sardines and some anchovy. I convinced the Missus to try the saba version and am glad we did.

The prepared rice was pressed well, though it was rather mild in vinegar tones. The saba, which had cured inhouse and torched was really good, not too fishy, but with a nice cured-cheesy flavor to it. The torching provided a touch of pleasant smokiness. The miso sauce was nice, slightly sweet, savory, but not too salty.

By this time, I needed a drink. Kelsey, who was our Server was fantastic, efficient, pleasant, friendly, but not overly so, suggested something by a local brewery; Strange Fellows. The ale was very nice….the Missus actually loved this and we'd be getting their brews every chance we had.

We finished our meal with a foursome of aburi nigiri. Clockwise from the top left; Hotate (scallop), Wagyu, Toro, and Hirame.

All of the seafood was fantastic and the beef decadent. The one problem for us and since this is nigiri it was a major issue was the rice which was really mushy and formed with too much pressure……I'm figuring most folks wouldn't notice; but any nigiri lover would immediately pick that up. The hotate was tender and sweet, with the torching adding a wonderful touch of flavor. The hirame was very fresh, but the toro was just fantastic as it melted in your mouth as did the wagyu beef which was out of this world.

Night had settled in as we finished up our meal. We marveled at how the service and pacing here at Miku was just perfect for us. They struck the perfect balance in terms of service, friendliness, and made us feel very comfortable. Kelsey was quite knowledgeable and his recommendations, after asking us a few questions, were spot on.

And while Miku looks like one of those stylish-hip places, the food delivered, and the atmosphere was totally not stuffy.

There are times when you just have a great experience….where a place just seems like a perfect fit for you. Miku did that for us. In terms of price; our meal, including drinks came out to something like $115 US……which I thought was a bargain. I've spent more at Sushi Yaro for dinner! I'm sure we'll be back to Vancouver. And we will definitely be back to Miku.

Miku
200 Granville Street Suite 70
Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4, Canada

From Easter Island to Santiago

August 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Caffeine Fix, Easter Island, Santiago, Chile, Travel

Here's an interesting tidbit; mention Easter Island to someone in the Spanish speaking world and you might get a blank stare. The official Spanish name is Isla de Pascua. I mentioned Easter Island a few times in Santiago and got quizzical looks. Upon returning, I mentioned Easter Island to one of the folks in another department, she is Peruvian (Tusan!), and she had no idea what I was talking about until I said Isla de Pascua! She loves talking to me about Peruvian food and I'm definitely going to get some recommendations from her next time we travel to Peru.

Our The flight out of Hanga Roa didn't leave until 11, so we had some time to take a short drive and refill the fuel, and stuffs like that. While I was taking the trash out I heard the sound of hooves and took a look around the hedges! There was a guy riding a horse down the street….with a pony following! You sure don't see that everyday here in San Diego!

I quietly walked back to the cabanas, when, I was met by a familiar creature….dum, da, dum, dum……

He looked rather irritated and I'd had enough. I let the cat sit in my lap and gave it some attention. When I put the cat down….it got rather angry, but I moved quickly enough and avoided any parting shots.

Having escaped the clutches of the cat, we headed off and did a last short drive around Hanga Roa.

Man this place was beautiful!

Even the outdoor fitness park……

We made a last stop in town at our favorite little breakfast place.

We got the specialty of the house; the eggs and Nescafe. This time I got a polka dot cup…..

We then went to the gas station, filled up and headed back to the cabanas to relax before our trip.

Check-out went smoothly. When Vero, the wonderful woman at Marae – Cabañas went to call us a shuttle, we told her that we'd rather walk. The airport was just a 15 minute walk away.

Check-In and everything else was fine; a bit slow, but again…this is island life….you don't rush things. Once past security, while waiting we watched the excited visitors exit the place. This is where we were just a few days before.

Due to the time change, it was almost 9pm when we got into Santiago. Our flight to Lima left at 8 the next morning so there was no sense in heading into Santiago. There's a very convenient Holiday Inn right across the street from the airport. After grabbing a sandwich in the airport, this is where we settled in. We decided on a nightcap and went to the bar.

The guy working the bar was so nice and friendly that we decided to stay for a second drink. We talked about Santiago and he mentioned how busy the city is. We asked about classic Chilean dishes and he was nice enough to pull photos from Instagram and other sites, describing the various dishes. What a great guy.

He also made a decent Old Fashioned…..

Soon enough, it was time to head back up to our room. We'd try to grab some shut-eye before our flight to Lima in the morning……though I could still see Moai dancing in my dreams!