Breakfast/Brunch – Page 28

Philippe the Original (Breakfast and Lunch) and 2015 Rose Parade Float Road Test #2

July 13, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food and the story prefacing as well as post scripting enjoyment of said food. Today's post is bookended by food and also centralized by books. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are doing other things while Cathy writes.

A beautiful Saturday morning, waking while the sky was illuminated by the Supermoon and driving North to Pasadena was intervened with a quick stop for breakfast at Philippe the Original, which Kirk blogged about in 2007. (A recent post from cc here and from Elmo in 2007 here and a 2008 post from MiP here )This quintessential American Cafeteria, with a fascinating history, is famous for THE French dip sandwich.

There is also a breakfast menu. Walking up to the counter, The Mister ordered, paid and waited for our food to be prepared while I enjoyed the various miniature museum of displays surrounding the communal seating areas.

If you didn't know, Philippe the Original is within walking distance of both Union (railroad) Station and Dodger Stadium, the third oldest ballpark in the USA.

Soon enough, breakfast was ready. At the top is the Breakfast Combo Special ($7.50)- French toast, over easy eggs, bacon and coffee. The French toast batter has a bit of cinnamon in it, the bread is soft, thick and cooked just right (crispy on the exterior and soft and warm/fluffy interior). The bacon is thin and crispy and has flavor. Here's a better photo of the corned beef hash plate ($8.25)served with home fried potatoes and over easy eggs (again, coffee is included). The hash is wonderful -dry, not greasy- and has a great flavor. The Home Fries are made expertly, as are the over easy eggs and the biscuits (a classic baking powder/soda mix) – great short-order chefs.

We drove up the 110 to Pasadena and the Phoenix Decorating Company barn for the second 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade float maneuverability testing in less than six minutes.

There were ten floats being tested this day and quite a few were ready for their final tests before decorating (which begins in December) by having people on board to test weight bearing on the maneuverability as well as ability to escape efficiently in case of a fire. Above, Kiwanis International, with their float now color coded for the volunteers to decorate easily. So much prettier than when it was tested in its 'cocoon' stage last month (3rd photo).Similarly, last month's rebar/chicken wire/partial cocoon stage of the Lions Club International float, "Inspiring Challenges" (to the right in the first photo in that post), did no justice to this finalized version.

Rotary International has the theme of "Changing Lives Through Clean Water".

The Oddfellows and Rebekahs Rose float, "Never Forget" is beautiful with its colors marked.

The City of Alhambra is titled "Go For Broke" and will also have a military theme.

The theme of the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade is "Inspiring Stories" and a good number of floats are taking that concept literally and depicting books on their floats. Above, the Donate Life float titled "The Never Ending Story".

Lutheran Hour Ministries and "The Bible…God's Story" will have a float in the parade for the 65th time.

Shriners Hospital for Children is having a float featuring a Shriner Bear reading -and seated upon- books.

There were two other floats also tested, both in rebar stage: Trader Joe's and the American Armenian Rose Float Association. Within a month, each will take on more details and be more interesting.

Back to food, since Philippe the Original is only about seven miles from Raymond Street…

The ordering cases filled with a variety of sides, ten order/serving lines (there are only five at breakfast), ordered chaos, freshly sawdusted flooring, house made HOT mustard on each table. (Philippe is right next to Chinatown, which I'm pretty certain had an influence on the mustard recipe). Lunchtime.

Double dipped (each piece of crispy fresh French bread gently run through the jus; opposed to a 'single dip' with only one piece of bread dipped) sandwiches of roast beef ($7) roast lamb ($8.50), sides of house made potato salad ($1.35) and pickle ($1.30) along with two glasses of iced tea (65 cents each).

Because we had side by side comparisons, we liked the roast lamb considerably more than the roast beef (no complaints when we tasted the beef first) (There were also some nice crusty pieces of the lamb in the sandwich, which may have been a further influence). The kosher pickle was excellent as was the freshly made potato salad.

We also served ourselves water…so reminiscent of Elementary School…

and stopped to check out the gift counter, where some old fashioned candies are sold (Sen-Sen anyone?) (this area takes credit cards; the food counter is cash only)…

while getting a roast pork sandwich, double dipped ($7) and pickled egg ($1.15) (see the gallon jar on the counter in the second photo of this post?) to go. No worse for the drive, the pork also was very good. The pickled egg has a good old fashioned pickled beet flavor.

Philippe the Original 1001 N. Alameda Street Los Angeles 90012 (213)628-1731 Website open seven days 6 a.m.-10 p.m.

2015 Rose Parade Rose Parade float road test #1-and a food road trip

June 8, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Orange County, Road Trip, Stuff, Thai Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with posts centering around food, sometimes sharing the process which the acqusition of said food occurred. Kirk is busy, Ed(from Yuma) is busy and Cathy is writing.

More than a month ago, friend and fellow food blogger, cc, asked (another friend and food blogger) CAB and I to accompany her on a celebratory (beginning of vacation) food crawl 'Up North'. CAB unfortunately had a change in plans and couldn't make it. I discovered on Wednesday before our scheduled crawl that the first Rose Parade float road testing was also going to be held that Saturday morning. Checking out the road testing is something The Mister and I do and share here on the blog ( I also share decorating and other 'behind the scenes' posts about float consruction). I felt guilty, A) Because The Mister wouldn't be able to come with us and 2. For asking for a slight change in 'plans'. Except our plans included and lot of 'maybe here and maybe there' places to visit and eat..so I added one in. Of course it had to be the first thing we did that day, because testing begins at 7 a.m.. In Pasadena.

At the end of this epic day (I was at cc's home at 5 a.m. on the dot and got back to my home at 6:35 p.m.), I was exhausted, had driven 314 miles and had 327 photos on my camera (many were the same subject from different angles) and so this post is mostly photos. Details in future posts.

First the 2015 Rose Parade. The floats tested this day were all sponsored by service (volunteer) organizations. The theme of the Tournament of Roses parade is "Inspiring Stories". The Grand Marshal will be Louis Zamperini, WWII POW, Olympian and the subject of soon to be released movie, Unbroken. Each float is the interpretation of the theme by each participating organization.

Rotary International (the color coded float, depicting a wishing well and candles). Lions Club International (in it's rebar and partial coccoon stage)(can you see a wave of water and surfboards?).

Odd Fellows and Rebakahs, their float is depicting the Unknown Soldier Tomb.
Kiwanis International (being parked back into the Phoenix Decorating Company barn)(the doorway is the maximum height and width a float can be, or collapse down to, to be able to pass under street and signal lights along the parade route).
Lutheran Hour Ministries. This float is titled "The Bible, God's Story".

This will be the Donate Life float. It's in the basic stage of construction and testing. Those detailed butterflies are just so beautiful. You can see the float driver in this photo.

Now, to the food portion of this post. In order: what we ate and did. One photo from each place.

Yep. We did a LOT in a few hours. It was fun, educational, tasty and only slightly exhausting. The details will be revealed in future posts. Feel free to guess or ask questions. Hope you are having a good week!

Where we ate: First photo (Cream Pan) 2nd photo (Jones Coffee) third photo (Euro Pane) 4th photo (Galco's) 5th photo (Mae Ting's) Next photo (LAX-C) Next few photos: Velveteria, Chinatown, Queen's Bakery, Brodard, 85C, The Snowflake Factory, and finally The above photo, a Jesuit.

Rose Donuts (near USD) {Breakfast and the elusive blueberry fritter}

May 31, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping by to read the mmm-yoso!!! named food blog. Kirk is adjusting to his current time zone, Ed (from Yuma) is adjusting to his current job status and Cathy is adjusting to whatever new crisis occurs in her path, while writing a short post.

Last December, I made a casual mention about an item I can only buy here. You can see it in the last two photos of this post. Somehow, I was never back in this neighborhood for almost half a year. Located on the SouthEast corner of Linda Vista Road at Napa Street, just down the hill from the University of San Diego and just up the street from a San Diego Police Station, this location of Rose Donuts has been here and open since February 2006. By that, I mean open 24/7, closed rarely, for family emergencies.

There are more than donuts sold here. That's an ice cream freezer to the far right. You can see signage for Thai iced tea and Vietnamese iced coffee. Then there's all the stuff right in front of you.

The selection of donuts is not huge, but always a bit interesting. The brisk business here assures always fresh. What also makes this donut shop interesting is the menu of made to order Breakfast Sandwiches-which you can purchase during any of the 24 hours of the day. You might notice the small print at the bottom of the above menu. A "combo" comes with your choice of six donut holes or one regular donut and a small coffee or cold beverage. What a perfect dining establishment.

This day, we purchased only one Combo (shared a coffee) and chose the cake donut covered in orange frosting. Not just orange colored, but orange flavored-with bits of orange peel in the frosting. I like that neither the donut nor the icing is too sweet. The fritter? It's apple with blueberries (look close) ($1.05; smaller than a regular apple fritter ($1.55)). No other bakery makes this wonderful item, which, since eating this, has re-developed my craving for it and all frittered items.

Above is the "Sunrise" ($3.65, combo, $5.10). The croissant is made here, soft, flaky, fresh, warm and, as you can see, filled with simply fried egg and two types of cheese (white and yellow).

Above, is the "Early" sandwich ($3.65, combo $5.10). Served on a choice of white, wheat or sourdough toast with good, crisp bacon and, as you can see, two cheeses.

A great place for fresh items, a meal or a snack, any time you have a craving.

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

Señor Mango-fruiteria (University Heights)

May 29, 2014 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Fruiterias, Mexican Restaurants, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food-centric blog. Today, Kirk is relaxing and looking for sunshine, Ed(from Yuma) is indoors, seeking air conditioned comfort and Cathy is trying to find a way to achieve satisfaction from the current San Diego heat wave.

It's been beautiful outdoors the past week, slowly inching to the edge of being a bit too warm. The Mister and I found ourselves on 30th near Adams Avenue the other day, and decided to stop for a quick lunch. Señor Mango's has been in this small non-air conditioned shop, in the middle of a block of homes and small businesses, for more than ten years. When you walk in, to your right is a glass case displaying most of the fresh fruits available today.

To your left is a wall painted with the menu. Prices and menus are in clear plastic pocket folders at the cash register (straight ahead) where you order, pay and wait for your number to be called. There are five tables inside and five tables out in front. Many people call in orders to pick up and many others order their items "To Go". We like to eat "here", so while one of us is ordering, the other is seeking a table. Beverages available here are Smoothies (fruit plus ice plus sugar and OJ, blended), Licuados (fruit plus low fat milk plus sugar plus ice cream, blended), Aguas frescas (fruit plus water, sugar and ice, blended) or Juices. Above, a small Vampire juice ($3.75); squeezed and/or pressed to order, served at room temperature; not watered down. It's made with beets, carrots, celery and orange. Always good; you can taste each item.Above photograph- half a Lomo (grilled pork tenderloin seasoned with guajilla peppers) Torta ($5.50) (The Mister had grabbed his half before I could take a photo of the whole thing). Fresh, toasted bolillo roll, topped with lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, avocado, some mayonnaise and plenty of still warm lomo. A perfect sandwich and enough to share.Above, a small "Fruity Mix"($5.50) bowl-seasonal fruits topped with cottage cheese (or you could choose yogurt), raisins, granola, shreds of coconut and honey. Seasonal fruits in the bowl this day were banana, apple, orange, cantaloupe, strawberries, honeydew, papaya, mango and pineapple.

Always fresh and delicious, I enjoy the availability of so many Fruiterias in our great County. Hope you're staying cool!

Señor Mango's 4607 30th (between Adams and Madison) San Diego 92116 (619) 584-0041 Open Mon-Sat 8-8, Sun 9-7 link to website, which is horribly out of date (Escondido location is closed, hours are different and menu is "404 not found"

De Mi Cafe Cafe- Breakfast

May 27, 2014 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a San Diego based food blog. Writers here include Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy. Everyone but Cathy is busy today, so here's a post she wrote.

I've passed by this corner of Friars Road at Via Las Cumbres countless times in the past year, always noticing a dear favorite, Mr. Peabody's, always seeing the 'new' signage for De Mi Cafe Cafe and then continuing on to wherever I was headed. Finally one weekday morning, The Mister and I stopped here.

As with any Cafe, you walk up, order, pay and your food is brought to you. It turns out the owner, Michal, was also our cashier and the barista that morning. He is a very nice, interesting person and quite efficient.

Of course, there is an espresso machine (and most people were ordering espresso based beverages), but we decided on a 'regular' coffee to share. One of the condiments offered at the counter was organic half and half.

Whiile waiting (and after perusing the various refrigerated treat offerings), I noticed the glass topped chest freezer to the side, filled with some delightful items, which we will be returning to try very soon.

The Mister chose a De Mi egg sandwich ($5). It's served on a choice of breads-this is on white toast, and it is a good, hearty white bread. Made with ham, scrambled egg and cheddar (choice of cheddar or provolone) cheese, this was surprisingly flavorful and filling.

I chose the De Mi Breakfast Plate ($6.50) with the wheat toast (again, a very hearty bread). Served with Italian salami, the cheddar and provolone, a large pat of good, unsalted butter and the tomatoes (as well as unseeded grapes), this was another filling and wonderful breakfast.

Oh- and that croissant on the first plate- chocolate ($2.50). Made here. Still warm. Wonderful.

This was a wonderful, European style breakfast right in the midst of Mission Valley.

De Mi Cafe Cafe 6110 Friars Road, Suite 102 San Diego, CA 92108 (619)246-0968 M-Th 6am-4pm, Fri-Sat 7-7, Sun 8-7 Website

St. Tropez Bakery & Bistro (Encinitas)

May 20, 2014 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, French Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the title of a blog about food. Kirk is enjoying his vacation of hearty meals, Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying the end of an exuberant era and Cathy is sharing her enjoyment of a genuinely good little restaurant.

Well, time to get back to some normalcy. The weather has cooled down, the winds have slowed down and the fires are contained.

A few months ago, I met a client for an exchange of paperwork. She suggested St. Tropez Bakery and Bistro, the original location, inside The Lumberyard shopping center, located in downtown Encinitas. Turns out there are now four San Diego locations and two are franchises.

We had coffee, shared a pastry and when I was getting ready to leave, she asked me to wait and went inside, came out and presented me with a bag of what were to become a few meals and snacks.

The packaging contained two of each of the above items- ham quiche, veggie quiche, raisin swirled pastry and an apricot topped pastry. Each item was superb, fresh and of high quality. The crusts, cheesy custard and fillings of the quiches were excellent. I really enjoyed the raisin only (no cinnamon) puff pastry and the custard and crust under the torched, glazed, flavorful apricots were standouts.

Here's a photo of one meal at home. (Parisian Salad mix from Costco).

A few weeks later, I took The Mister for the drive North, so we could try more menu items. You order, pay and have a seat.

The chicken curry croissant ($9.25) (includes the salad, topped with my choice of balsamic vinaigrette- there are several vinaigrette flavors to choose from). A whole grilled (just right; juicy) chicken breast with Swiss cheese covered with a creamy European curry (not a hot curry; more of a sweet mix of flavors-there's cumin and tomato, turmeric, paprika and some garlic flavor. Have you ever had currywurst?) all on a fresh baked croissant. This unique blend of flavors, textures and freshness was excellent.

The classic Croque Madame ($9.75)(with grilled potatoes and fruit) Grilled ham and Swiss with a Bechamel (flour and butter cooked in milk) sauce, topped with a lightly cooked egg all on a hearty toasted white bread. (Croque Monsieur is the same sandwich, but without the egg. Think of a lady wearing a hat made of egg- that's Madame.)

We decided to share an order of Nutella crepes($5.95). The plate was covered with a dark chocolate sauce, real whipped cream on the side and these were wonderful. The familiar chocolate-hazelnut filling hit the spot with a cup of coffee.

All in all, excellent, tasty food. We'll be back to try more of the menu.

St. Tropez Bistro and Bakery 947 S. Coast Highway 101, Suite 103D (next to Starbucks) Encinitas 92024 (760)633-0084 Website Open daily 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

Porto: Avenida dos Aliados, Imperial McDonalds, and Confeitaria do Bolhao

April 12, 2014 mmm-yoso Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Porto, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Travel

We'd had a pretty busy first day in Porto and I really slept soundly. As is typical for us, we awoke pretty early in the morning to stretch our legs and do some exploring. We'd found that mornings are almost always the best times to see things……you'll be in less of a rush and, especially in Portugal the streets are quiet and empty.

We headed up to the area that seems to be the heart of Porto; the Avenida dos Aliados, the "Avenue of the Allies". The street commemorates the marriage of King John (Joao)I and Philippa of Lancaster, creating an alliance between Portugal and England.

The avenue and promenade is lined with some nice examples of Art Nouveau and Art Deco buildings. A statue of King Pedro IV on a horse stands at the lower end of the street and City Hall the top.

I'm sure everything here has a story. It's a nice place to stroll on a cool morning, all the grand buildings around. I wondered about the statue to the right. I could find very little, at least in English on "The Naked Girl – Youth" by Henrique Moreira, sculpted in 1929.

This is also the location of McDonald's….yep, McDonald's. What's the big deal? Well, they call this location, "Imperial McDonald's" and it's supposedly the most ornate and beautiful McDonald's in the world. In case you're wondering….it's not Imperial by declaration. I was told that this was the former site of Imperial Cafe, which became derilict and run down. McDonald's took over the space in 1995.

Man, talk about fancy-schmancy…..I'd feel down right uncomfortable getting my McNuggets on here!

Still, this was just a McDonald's, so we headed back up to the area near Rua Catarina and the large Mercado do Bolhão. Before heading in, we decided on getting breakfast at Confeitaria do Bolhao right across the street.

A large case of pastries, both sweet and savory, a large area to have you espresso and a pastry, this was very "tipico" of what we encountered everywhere in Portugal.

We were mainly after some espresso, but also had a few other items, which were decent, but rather non-descript. The prices were very good….if I recall, two espressos and pastries for like 5 Euros.

We also picked up a Broa de Avintes for later on…..

Confeitaria do Bolhao
Rua Formosa 339
Porto, Portugal

A cup of espresso, carbs in our belly….we were ready for the world, or at least a visit to the Mercado do Bolhão.

Thanks for reading!

The Missus’ three current favorite places, in photos

March 12, 2014 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Burgers, Mexican Restaurants, yoso-silly

Let's see if you can figure them out…..I'm pretty sure that "Hao" will have no problem!

1: This is the easiest one.

2: If you're a regular reader, this one won't be much of a challenge either……

3: This one is the toughest, but still not difficult. I'm not a big fan of the rabbit here……

So there you go. I'll update these with the places some time tomorrow.

Howard’s Lemon Grove Deli & Grill (Breakfast)

February 20, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog you are reading, is being posted today by Cathy. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are really, really busy-too busy to write.

Lately, The Mister and I have had to make time to share meals out. One day, we wanted to return to Howards, a Lemon Grove Diner, which has been here for decades. Our fondness for this place began on our first visit, after the San Diego County Fires of 2003, when we were driving around looking for a place to eat and find some normalcy in our ash filled world.

Located on Broadway (the main drag) on the West side of the street along the feeder road just a block North from the Lemon Grove Trolley stop, it's convenient. From this view of the front, you may notice the doorway is a bit stepped back- there are about eight tables outside, which are covered and in front of the door to the inside eating area.

You can see the deli/sandwich/grill menu on the wall back there. Many people call in orders to go, or walk in and wait for to go orders at lunchtime. But we were here for breakfast.

This is the breakfast menu, although there are about five items listed on the wall above the door inside.

I ordered the carne asada plate with over easy eggs ($9.25). This came with corn tortillas, rice, beans, salsa, avocado and chopped tomatoes. The eggs were perfectly cooked and the steak was plentiful and seasoned well and just plain good.

The Mister ordered the chicken fried steak plate($9.25). The coating was crunchy and not the least bit greasy and the meat was thick and juicy. This came with a from scratch country gravy, which was delicious. The Mister chose home fried potatoes as his side.

Poached eggs also came with this plate. As did rye toast.

All in all, this is a great local place that has withstood the test of time. I hope all of you have such a gem in your part of town.

Howards Lemon Grove Deli & Grill 7860 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA 91945 (619)464-2928 Mon-Sat 7-4, Sun 7-2

Coimbra: Breakfast at Pastelaria Palmeira and Mercado Municipal Dom Pedro V

February 7, 2014 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Coimbra, Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Travel

After a fairly restless night of Ossos induced sleep, we woke early, veyr typical for us when on vacation. As with Lisbon, we notcied that folks wake a bit later in Coimbra. The Missus was just raring to go, so we headed off…..

We took a short stop on Praca de Maio taking time to admire the Church of Santa Cruz,which looked so peaceful and regal in the morning. As we approached we could hear a buzzing noise in the silence of the morning. Apparently, the building has electrified wires running around it to keep birds away.

A few blocks away, on Rua de Sofia, we found a little bakery that was doing a brisk business with locals.

The name of the place is Pastelaria Palmeira, so of course I had one…..

I had really gotten used to having that cup of espresso and a pastry for breakfast, that it just the right thing to do.

We enjoyed this place and actually returned the next morning before heading out of Coimbra.

Pastelaria Palmeira
Rua da Sofia 13
Coimbra, Portugal

Right up the street on Rua Olímpio Nicolau Rui Fernandes is the local Mercado – Mercado Municipal Dom Pedro V.

Much like the markets in Lisbon and Evora, business seemed slow. It seems that places like this are starting to fade away with younger folks shopping at chain supermarkets.

The place is a multi-level affair, full of little kiosks, the seafood area separated from the other stands.

As you can see, nary a customer in sight. I'm wondering if it was just a timing thing?

I'm hoping it is, since it would be very sad to see a way of life change…….

Mercado Municipal Dom Pedro V
Rua Olímpio Nicolau Rui Fernandes3000-303
Coimbra, Portugal

I did take my sweet old time here because I knew there was a steep hill in my future…..