Dog Friendly – Page 6

Road Trip – A Return to La Posada and the Turquoise Room (Winslow) and the Painted Desert Rim Trail (Petrified Forest National Park)

May 16, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Road Trip, Travel

After Scottsdale, our next stop was at a very familiar place. Yep, we were back in Winslow, Arizona, staying at the La Posada Hotel yet again.

Of course, this time we had, "you know who" in tow.

The place was much busier than we recalled; which I'm thinking is a good thing.

There are several dog friendly rooms in the hotel. As I've mentioned before, the room are named after various celebrities who have stayed at the La Posada. On this visit we had the Diane Keaton room.

It was quite large and spacious.

In spite of the place being rather busy; we were able to check in early. And once settled in; you know where the Missus needed to take JJ, right?

Yep…..

It was time for JJ to "Stand on that corner". Along with various other photo ops in Winslow and around the La Posada.

As for dinner. Well, when I made our hotel reservations, I was told that we could dine in the lobby right outside of the Turquoise Room. So, I made reservations and we had a table right in front of the bar area in the lobby. There was another table having drinks and later two more parties, both with pooches dined in the lobby as well.

I've already done several posts on meals at the Turquoise Room, that I'll just post some photos. It was as good as before.

And JJ seemed to enjoy himself as well.

After dinner; the Missus had to go back out again for more photo-ops…..

Before settling in for the night.

In the morning, we got some coffee in the lobby and of course guess where the Missus had to go to before checking out?

Sheesh…I basically did have to tell Her to "Take it Easy"…pun intended…..

After checking out; we headed east on the I-40 to the Petrified Forest National Park. I had read that the Park is one of the most dog friendly. We decided to first heading to the North side and the Painted Desert Inn area and get a bit acquainted with the park by taking the short Painted Desert Rim Trail.

The views were stunning.

And at first JJ was really curious…..

But soon, it seems the sun started getting to him….I'm saying the sunlight, because, well, it wasn't hot at all…..

He started to try to find shade under small little bushes and leaves…..so dramatic.

We kept trying to give him water….but he wasn't thirsty. Was this the same pooch who had just done a 5 mile walk with us in Santa Barbara a month before? We've kind of decided that "J" does not like too much sun….mister photo-phobia…..

So we cut things short and headed back to Winslow to grab an early lunch back at the Turquoise Room.

The Missus really likes that Lamb Pozole. And as you can tell; I like the salads here…..I know…me with a salad? Still, the Turquoise Room is pretty much a must stop for us when we're in the area.

Turquoise Room (in the La Posada Hotel)
303 E 2nd St.
Winslow, AZ 86047

From here we headed west on the I-40, stopping to put in gas in Kingman. Man, check out the price of a gallon of gas here!

Before making it to our next stop……

Road Trip – Zuzu (Scottsdale)

May 7, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Dog Friendly, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Road Trip, Travel

Back at the end of March we took JJ on his forth road trip (!). This time the Missus wanted to take the pup to one of Her favorite towns, mainly for the photo-op. We had been there so many times that I knew the hotel had a good "pup policy". So, we did a bookend, one stop before and one stop after as JJ himself noted in this post. All in all, over 1300 miles in three days! Yikes!

Anyway, I'd heard that Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale was dog friendly and all rooms had a patio or balcony…..we usually request first floor rooms these days. You know, having a pup and all. I thought checking out Old Town Scottsdale might be interesting as I hadn't been there since my consulting days in the late 90's. And this being late March, the weather would still be pretty moderate….boy, was I wrong! Unfortunately, there was some record heat in the Phoenix area, the temp was said to be 93F! Yikes!

So, after checking in and cooling off, we took JJ out to see how things would go. Well, we found that JJ does not like high temps. Right past our hotel on East Main there was a patch of grass in front of a pizza restaurant. JJ would just lie in the grass and not want to move!

We did make it to the 5th Avenue Shopping District.

Where most of the shops were closed and those that were open were very touristy and bored the Missus. We hurried down North Scottsdale Road back to East Main and the hotel so JJ could cool off.

Luckily, for dinner, I had selected the restaurant in the hotel, something the Missus wasn't thrilled about. She looked over the menu online and was just not impressed. Telling me "are we really eating in the hotel restaurant?"

Zuzu however, did feature patio seating, and by this time things had started to cool off.

We started with some cocktails which were very good. Our Servers were very friendly and when we mentioned the heat told us that it had been in the high 50's just a week previous!

The Missus wasn't inspired by the menu, so I placed our order. The first item to arrive set everything right for the rest of the meal. The Terra Heritage Wagyu Beef Carpaccio was impressive.

Would you believe this was just 21 bucks!!! The beef was cold, refreshing, and quite tasty. There were slices of dried okra for textural contrast. The pumpernickel crumble, provided more texture, the flavor of the anise-toned caraway lifted the dish. Grana Padano added salty-savory milkiness and the Dijon pungency. This was my favorite dish of the trip by far.

I make roasted cauliflower a lot at home, directed toward the Missus' taste. So, when She saw that I ordered the Cauliflower ($14), the Missus was prepared for the worst. But like the carpaccio, this was a very good dish.

But the florets were nicely roasted and seasoned; the Fromage Blanc added a nice palate refreshing tart-creamy-sourness. The Calabrian Peppers mild spice and what seemed like a mild sweetness. There was an interesting mild anise flavor going on….I found out later that those tiny green slices were of Thai Basil.

Of course we had to have a salad, so we went with the Honeycrisp and Kale Salad ($13).

Sweet-Bitter with a nice, crisp, vinaigrette and grated Manchego cheese. Again, it was the little touches that made this dish interesting……here it was the sweet-tart pomegranate seeds.

This was a surprisingly (for the Missus) good meal! And there seemed to be quite a few "regulars" dining. I think She won't be dissing hotel restaurants anymore! It was our favorite meal of the trip! And the whole meal including cocktails was under $75 before tip!

ZuZu (In Hotel Valley Ho)
6850 E Main St.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

After dinner, we took JJ for another short walk along East Main. It had cooled off a bit, so he did much better.

We'd spend the next morning taking a walk around Old Town Scottsdale since the temperature was much cooler.

Before heading to our next stop!

Circling Back to Tanuki

May 6, 2025 mmm-yoso Dog Friendly, Japanese Restaurants

At the beginning of last month; I was updating "The Big List By Neighborhood" and of course, a couple of places caught my eye. In fact, this one post I did in December of 2021, during the pandemic really got my attention. It was of two places that we had gone to three times each back in 2020! I had those photos saved for a post and then you know what happened, right? Anyway, I did a "Clearing Out the Memory Card" post and had meant to return once things returned to normal. And of course time does not stand still for anyone….here we are in 2025.

So recently, I set out to rectify that short coming. And lucky for us, Tanuki has a outdoor sitting area so we could bring JJ along. We decided on lunch and headed on over, arriving just at the noon opening time, managing to snare a parking spot. Parking in Kensington can sometimes be as rare as actually seeing the namesake in the wild!

We took a table outdoors and the friendly Server quickly brought JJ a bowl of H2O to get him settled in!

Tanuki 01b

Having been here three times before, we treaded lightly, from previous experience, even though it was five years and counting, staying away from the sushi/sashimi….I didn't come here for the fries.

Tanuki Rev 01

I did want the Kakiage Udon, but the Missus didn't feel like having that. So, we placed our order. The Missus got the cold brew tea, which came in a nifty glass bottle…….of course the Missus then purchased one on Amazon!

Tanuki Rev 02

And you can see the first item that arrived as well, the Wagyu Tataki Ponzu ($19).

Tanuki Rev 03

While the beef was a bit over cooked for tataki; it was tender with good beefiness. The daikon oroshi added nice pungency and the ponzu a layer of sourness, with a hint of sweet. Not bad at all.

What was bad was the Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna ($18).

Tanuki Rev 04

The bones scraped tuna had been turned to mush and was rather fishy. The rice had been formed into squares like tater tots and hadn't been browned enough to attain crispness; rather it was quite plastic-cy in texture. Not a very good dish.

The Toro Wasa ($12) was a nice correction.

Tanuki Rev 05

I didn't expect Otoro for this price point and it wasn't a huge portion, but the fish was very fatty and tender. The wasabi added a nice sinus clearing pungency. We enjoyed this dish.

Our favorite item of the day was the Hamachi Kama ($20).

Tanuki Rev 06

Though it didn't look particularly good; we really enjoyed this. The skin had attained a decent crispness, the flesh moist and buttery, deep rich-oceany-umami flavors. It was decently (not overly) salted.

The Roasted Suzuki ($14) while nicely priced was just ok.

Tanuki Rev 07

The fish was very tender, though the skin rubbery. It was in need of some seasoning as the cilantro sauce, while creamy was bland. The toumokoroshi; the grilled corn was too hard, while haricot-vert undercooked, not seasoned, and too hard.

Overall, nice service, the prices reasonable for this day and age, the food was decent, especially for Japanese food in Kensington. We'll probably return for an al fresco early dinner with JJ one evening.

The Missus wants to have that kama again……

Tanuki Rev 00

Tanuki
4191 Adams Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Monday 5pm – 9pm
Tues – Thurs 12pm – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Friday 12pm – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 5pm – 10pm

Where on the Road Were We? Part 2

May 5, 2025 mmm-yoso Dog Friendly, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Northern California, Road Trip, Travel

It was interesting leaving an area of the state we were fairly familiar with, to an area we hadn't been before. And add JJ to the mix!

Still, it was fun, if a bit tiring.

Our next stop was a harbor/fishing village and very popular tourist spot.

It had a lovely harbor front; though the lack of walking paths between stop made it a lot less fun for us. Seemed like everyone drove everywhere here; even though the harbors, shops, malls, hotels were just a couple of hundred yards apart, there was no real sidewalks or walking paths and actually walking on highway 1, well…….

The area is also famous for being a filming location of one of Alfred Hitchcock's most well known films…..

We loved our accommodations….we'd do takeout, purchase a nice bottle of wine from the Inn (at a very decent price) and eat in the covered "Wine Shack" with JJ.

From here we headed up the coastline…making a few stops to stretch our legs, fuel up, and even get in a lovely hike!

Until we got to our our next stop, a charming village that reminds me almost of a town in New England. The water towers, the buildings were lovely. JJ enjoyed some nice attention as well.

The town is perched on the cliffside above the Pacific and the trails right off Main Street led to some wonderful views.

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And we even got a "sign", literally, that our lovely Boy was looking over us.

We ate quite well here!

We loved it here and can't wait to return. It was one of our 2 favorite stops on this road trip.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll try to have something more relevant to dining in San Diego tomorrow before we head home!

Wildland and a Revisit to Sleeping Tiger Coffee (Carlsbad)

April 21, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Dog Friendly

Between all our Road Trips, we’ve taking JJ out to “explore” a bit. On one fine morning, we decided to head up to Carlsbad. We had enjoyed Jeune Et Jolie so much, that when the team behind that restaurant opened a breakfast-brunch-bakery we really wanted to try it out. I had read that dogs were allowed on the patio area, so we decided to head on up.

We easily found parking on State Street and when we passed Wildland, it wasn’t very busy at all. So we took JJ on over for a walk thru the village and along Carlsbad Boulevard.

But first, we decided t get our caffeine fix at a familiar locale, Sleeping Tiger Coffee inside of Witch Creek Winery. The two tables fronting Carlsbad Boulevard were empty, so the Missus sat with J, while I went in and ordered us a Tanzanian Pour Over and a cold brew.

Witch Creek Rev 01

We find it interesting that Starbucks next door is quite busy, while there’s no one getting coffee here.

The Missus enjoys the pour0vers from here and the cold brew is pretty strong and wakes me up.

Witch Creek Rev 03

We sat and relaxed for a bit. We both think the coffee at Sleeping Tiger is much better than the Starbucks next door and wonder why folks aren’t supporting a local business with a superior (in our opinion) product.

Meanwhile; JJ was wondering where “All the witches” were?

Witch Creek Rev 99

**** Sleeping Tiger Coffee is no longer

Sleeping Tiger Coffees (In Witch Creek Winery)
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Thurs – Mon 7am – 5pm
Tues – Wed 7am – 3pm

Fortified by caffeine we took JJ on a nice stroll along Carlsbad Boulevard overlooking Carlsbad State Beach, finally turning back near lifeguard tower 35. Walking back thru Carlsbad Village and along State, we arrived back at Wildland, which was still not very busy, so we grabbed a table on the patio.

Wildland 01

I sat with JJ while the Missus went to peruse the menu.

Wildland 02

The Missus decided on the three item Smoked Fish Plate ($18). Meanwhile, my food friend “LL” recommended the Shakshuka ($20), and after a pretty “meh” version at Flora, I was interested in trying this one.

Wildland 04

Ordering is done at the counter; you’re given a number and your food is brought to you.

Wildland 03

The Smoked Fish Plate was quite good. We chose the Smoked Salmon, Olive Oil Poached Yellowtail, and the item that really made this for us; the Hot Smoked Pastrami Kampachi, which was full of smoky-peppery-herbaceous flavors.

Wildland 05

Loved the veggies, so fresh, the tomatoes sweetly-fruity-acidic; man, those cucumbers crisp and palate cleansing. The vegetables were excellent. The weak point of the dish was the bread, too chewy, with a hard crust.

As for the Shakshuka.

Wildland 06

I thought this was going to be herb overload, but the dill actually complemented the acidic tones of the dish and the celery leaves added a mild “grassiness” to the dish. It seems that the versions in San Diego use za’atar and leave out the cumin and harissa. The eggs were nice and runny, with a hint of smoky-savoriness.

Wildland 07

As with the smoked fish plate, the bread was the weak link here, being too chewy and the crust hard. Still, the dish was pretty good overall.

We did enjoy our time at Wildland and will make sure to return for that smoked fish plate and JJ enjoyed visiting Carlsbad.
Wildland 00
Wildland
2598 State St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 8am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 8am – 10pm

Road Trip – Cailloux Cheese Shop (Solvang)

April 19, 2025 mmm-yoso Cheese, Cocktails, Dog Friendly, French Restaurants, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

After our rather "busy" morning and afternoon, we settled back into the Viking Inn for a nice afternoon nap. When dinner time arose, we didn't want to go very far. There was a place we'd seen the previous day, that was actually open on a Tuesday (many businesses are closed on Monday and Tuesday in Solvang). Cailloux Cheese Shop is located in a courtyard that also houses McClain Cellars, Dascomb Cellars, and Cordon Tasting Rooms. It is a cheese shop – restaurant, you purchase cheese – charcuterie – wine to go, or have access to a menu of French style dishes along with accoutrements for a cheese plate along with beer and wine by the bottle or glass.

We were having an early (430) dinner, the place closes at 6pm, and this seemed perfect. So, I went in and placed our order, paid, and we had a seat in the patio. The folks working here are so very friendly and kind. We were immediately asked if we needed the heaters turned on. Which we didn't.

The Missus went with a Chardonnay and I had a Savignon Blanc.

The Missus wanted to try the Cassoulet, which seemed like a bargain at $18, so we started with that.

At this price, I didn't expect anything like what I make at home, but this was pretty good. The Guanciale added a nice rich, porkiness to the dish, which wasn't overly salty.

There was a decent amount of duck in the dish; kind of chewy, but flavorful. The beans unfortunately, were pinto, I didn't expect Tarbais or even Flageolet beans at this price point, but thought even Cannelli would have been better. I did mention this to the kind older woman who helped bring out our dishes; I believe she is the owner, who said pinto beans are the only thing they can afford to keep the price down. I totally understand!

Our Cheese and Charcuterie plate was huge!

I liked the fact that they "flagged" the cheeses for us. I especially enjoyed the Mitica KM39, firm and flavorful, it went well with the bread. I'm a fan of blue cheeses so I enjoyed the Stilton. I wish they sold Port by the glass, which would have been perfect with this; but unfortunately they don't. The Missus enjoyed the Spanish Chorizo and I the prosciutto and pate. The Pico went well with the candied walnuts as well.

This was a generous and well put together plate. The staff are wonderful. I was curious about the name of the place, "Cailloux" translates to "Pebbles" in English, but we weren't near a beach or river bed. I asked and was told that the owner named the shop after her late pooch, named "Pebbles"! You gotta love it! I know JJ did!

We were finishing right before the 6pm closing, but were told "please take your time – we won't be leaving until after 730". Very nice! It was a perfect early dinner for us and we'll make sure to return!

Cailloux Cheese Shop
1623 Mission Dr. Suite L
Solvang, CA 93463

We strolled back to the motel; the Missus relaxed in the little grass area reading. I took JJ for a nice stroll in the neighborhood. After JJ had his dinner, I took JJ to get a nightcap. During our last stay in Solvang, we discovered Vaquero Bar, attached to the Coast Range Steakhouse. The place seemed to have quite a few locals. I decided to take JJ and head on over.

The place was empty, except for one other customer, who seemed to be a regular.

I had a fairly "stiff" Old Fashioned and a nice chat with the Bartender, who also works with the county doing road repairs. He confirmed my "observations" on the morning and evening traffic patterns. He told me that this was indeed "slow" season. Things start picking up at the end of March, going all the way thru summer/early fall.

Vaquero Bar (In Coast Range Restaurant)
1635 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

This was a perfect end to an enjoyable stay.

Though we had yet another road trip coming up in a few weeks!

Stay tuned!

Road Trip – Whiskey n’ Rye, Exploring Solvang, and Bell’s (Los Alamos) Yet Again

April 12, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Dog Friendly, French Restaurants, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

As soon as we got back from our last road trip with JJ, the Missus had me planning another one. Looks like we're doing one and month? Anyway, JJ had so much fun in Solvang and it was the slow season, so She wanted to stay there. I managed to find a dog friendly motel close to the edge of the "main drag" and we were set!

Of course, the Missus wanted to have lunch at Bell's yet again, so I made reservations for lunch and called to make sure we had a patio table. This time, even though it was on a Monday, I had 1pm reservations, so things were a bit more busy.

Still the service was great as they immediately brought JJ his own bowl of water when we were seated.

Lunch was as expected. Not going to go into much detail since I've done so many posts on the place before.

Though I will say, that even though the beef cheek in the beef cheek sandwich was delicious; we didn't care for the "rye-ish" bread that really messed up all the flavors.

Perhaps I should have stayed with my favorite here; the beef tartare. Still, this was a nice lunch.

Bell's
406 Bell St.
Los Alamos, CA 93440

After lunch we headed straight over to Solvang to see if our room was ready. And yes, it was! So we were able to check in an hour early.

We stayed at the Viking Inn on Mission Drive.

We liked the outdoor space with a fence right outside our door. The room was comfortable. I had read about street noise, but that wasn't a problem at all. Later that evening, the Missus, JJ, and I sat and relaxed outside for a bit. We had the whole area to ourselves. Being on the first level made taking JJ out at 4 in the morning a lot easier!

It seemed like the place was only half full, so no parking or similar issues. The only time we dealt with folks was when we checked in; the rest is done by code and text messages. While these accommodations were quite different from where we stayed in Solvang before, we enjoyed it.

Not sure how it is when things are busy, but this was really relaxing!

Viking Inn
1506 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

After unpacking, we took JJ for a walk. On our last visit to Solvang we found a really nice Pet Store, which just happened to be across the street from where we were staying.

And then headed down 246 and did some shopping. While there seemed to be traffic heading out of Solvang……I found out later that all the folks working in the town head on home….the opposite happens in the morning, there we hardly saw anyone walking!

We enjoyed ducking in and out of shops!

IMG_6283a

It was quite entertaining.

Folks working at these shops were very friendly. I'd usually stop at the front of the shop with JJ and let the Missus walk in if there's no "dogs welcome" sign. Most of the time we got waved in.

This soap shop was interesting…..

Mainly because of this sign…..

I asked the young lady working about it and she told me that every once in a while they'd find teeth marks or a chunk bitten out of the soap when they close up!

We ended up at the Mission Santa Ines, which we visited before.

We walked JJ along the grounds where dogs are allowed. JJ seems to be fascinated by statues. I call this one "JJ meets JC"!

I love the view from the Mission.

As we headed back you could see the line of cars heading out of Solvang…….

We got back to the room, took a short break and then headed out to dinner. One things about Solvang, it seems that many places are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so we had rather limited options when it came to dog friendly establishments. We decided to stay close and went to a place named Whiskey 'N Rye Smokehouse which was down at the end of Atterdag Road.

We were surprised to see that the entire interior of the restaurant and the bar was packed. I guess folks eat pretty early here? But we lucked out as the entire patio area was empty. I guess folks thought it might be too cold? The really nice Server was shocked when we said that he didn't need to fire up the heater.

As the name says; the place has a huge list of Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, and similar spirits; but I just wanted a beer.

The food offerings were BBQ/Meat/Burgers based, you know what I mean right?

The Missus had seen photos of the Brisket Dirty Fries ($22) and was fixed on ordering that.

While I don't think this was worth twenty-two bucks; it was the better of the two dishes. The fries had been "dusted" thus it was able to retain crispness thru the whole meal. The brisket wasn't very smoky and sort of stringy and chewy. I wish the cheese mix had more Gouda in it than Mozzarella, but it was great at making a gooey mess. The pickled onions and jalapenos were good as it added spice, pungency, and acidity. I thought this was decent "beer food".

We also got the Filet Mignon Tips ($34) which was a mixed bag.

We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet.

We were hoping for something in line with Shalhoob's, but this was more in line with "chain/tourist" food. At least the service, while a bit slow, which I can understand based on the crowd was quite nice. Not too many places open on this day so we had limited choices.

Whiskey 'N Rye Smokehouse
442 Atterdag Rd.
Solvang, CA 93463

Still, Solvang has it's charm and we were enjoying ourselves.

Thanks for stopping by!

Breakfast with JJ – Flora (North Park)

April 11, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Dog Friendly

During one of our walks with JJ in North Park, we noticed that Truffle Neighborhood Cocina had been replaced by a restaurant named Flora. After doing a bit of research, I found that the place was dog friendly, so we decided to head on over for brunch one morning.

The outdoor area, while on busy University Avenue was separated from the sidewalk traffic by planters.

Flora 01

We were greeted and seated in the nice patio area. The folks working here are wonderful, they immediately brought JJ some water while delivering our menus. He got served before us! Like I said; there's a difference between "Dog Allowed" and "Dog Friendly". Flora is definitely in the latter as the Servers came out to meet and greet JJ.

Flora 02

Flora 03

I think I've been out of touch with regards to breakfasts and brunch. There was Shashuka on the menu; one of my favorite dishes. We'd end up having Shakshuka three times in two weeks! When did that become mainstream?

The Missus got the Avocado Toast ($18), which came topped with poached eggs (a bit overcooked) and a pile of arugula.

Flora 04

Taking a closer look we noticed that the mashed avocado (the Missus prefers slices) was turning a bit brown. The highlight of the dish for the Missus was the sourdough which was toasted to crisp perfection.

Of course I got the Shakshuka ($17). The menu said the eggs were "sunny side up", but these seemed to be have been just cracked into the tomato-bell pepper sauce right before serving.

Flora 05 Flora 06 The toasts were again really good. The tomato-bell pepper compote was over processed and runny; I prefer something more rustic and thicker. It also lacked the seasoning I like; cumin, smoky tones, harissa, herbaceous flavors, and garlic. This had a decent acidity, though I'm not quite sure about feta cheese in my shakshuka. I really wasn't expecting anything close to what we had in Tunisia or Jerusalem, and I tend toward Tunisian style Shakshuka when I make the dish at home. But this was just mediocre to me.

Of the three versions we had; this was my least favorite. We were told that they use sourdough from Bread and Cie and also that the ownership is the same as when the place was Truffle Neighborhood Cocina. The Missus told me the interior of the restaurant is quite nice; but I didn't have a chance to check it out. And to be completely honest; I'm more about food than the "vibe".

We enjoyed the service and JJ had a nice visit to the park afterward as payment for being a "good boi" while we ate.

Flora 07

Flora
3021 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Sunday 8am – 3pm
Mon – Wed 9am – 3pm
Thurs – Fri 9am – 3pm, 4pm – 10pm
Saturday 8am – 3pm, 4pm – 10pm

Road Trip – Loquita Santa Barbara

April 10, 2025 mmm-yoso Dog Friendly, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Spanish Restaurants and Cuisine, Travel

After lunch at Bell's we headed back to the hotel and took a short nap. Upon waking, the Missus was ready to go once again. What She had in mind was taking JJ for a "walk" to the Mission Santa Barbara, which we had visited before. I had some reservations about this; first, yes we had walked to the Mission before but were a lot closer. This time, it would be a 2 1/2 mile walk each way and I was worried about how JJ would handle things. Well, I should have known better…..he was a total champ!

We headed under the 101 and up familiar State Street. But from there it was unfamiliar territory, where we hadn't visited before. Thru lovely and quite peaceful…at least on this day, Alameda Park.

Before getting to the Mission.

Where J enjoyed lying in the cool grass. It was still February when we took this road trip, so the rose garden wasn't in bloom, but JJ seemed to enjoy himself. As for the Missus, well once we arrived, it was "mission accomplished" and time to head back.

We enjoyed looking at the historic homes on Garden Street as we made our way back. Though it wasn't quite as diverse and fun as what we had enjoyed in Pacific Grove. We did make a nice stop at Alice Keck Park Memorial Garden which is right next to Alameda Park. Lovely trees and ponds, JJ was especially fascinated by the turtles.

Before heading down on Garden, then on State, ducking under the 101, to get back to our hotel to freshen up.

Our destination for dinner was basically two buildings down from the Moxy. I had tried to make reservations for Loquita the night before, but none were available. This was because Loquita was one of the places closed for Employee Appreciation night on Super Bowl Sunday. We saw folks dancing and having a great time when we passed on the way back from Shalhoob's! It seemed like a fun place and was dog friendly, so JJ could hang out.

We had a table in the lovely outdoor patio.

The Missus started with a Sangria and I had one of the specialty Gin and Tonics; the "Costa Blanca" which had kaffir line infused gin; it was quite refreshing. JJ got a nice bowl of water.

IMG_5804a

Loquita features Spanish influenced dishes. It had been a while since we'd had some of these dishes, so it was fun ordering.

We started with the Jamon Tasting ($35) which featured Jamon Serrano, Jamon Iberico, Iberico de Chorizo, and Pan con Tomate.

While we would usually enjoy the Jamon Iberico (especially if it's Jamon Iberico Pata Negra), this time the "white pigs" (i.e. Jamon Serrano) won out as it was more tender.

And was also cut thinner, so we enjoyed the texture of the Serrano more, even though the Iberico was more marbled, it was quite chewy. The Missus loves Spanish Chorizo, so that goes without saying. The Pan con Tomate was served on pan de cristal, the traditional bread and was quite good, even if it wasn't quite as honeycombed as what we had in Barcelona.

The tomato still had that wonderful "flavor of sunshine"! Sweet-acidity, with a touch of tartness, the olive oil lifting the flavors.

The Missus, always the egg lover, really enjoyed the Tortilla Espanola ($22).

Lots of flavor in this one; from the smoked tomatoes to the garlic aioli foam. Very tender, especially the potatoes.

Our least favorite item of the night was the Pulpo ala Gallega ($28).

The pulpo was really tough, they really laid on the aioli, which had strong sour tones that we didn't enjoy.

At first glance, I thought the Gambas al Ajillo ($24) was over sauced. But we ended up really enjoying the acidic-sweetness, a nice amount of garlic, along with some sneaky spiciness of the dish.

The shrimp were sweet and tender and in spite of the assertive sauce, you could still taste them. They even bought us extra bread for sopping up that sauce.

The service was friendly and effcient; very nice folks here. Before doing this post, I found out that Loquita was designated as a Bib Gourmand restaurant by Michelin, so good for them.

Loquita Santa Barbara
202 State St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

We then returned to the Moxy. I have mixed feelings about the Moxy Santa Barbara. The staff was great, love the funkiness, the rooms were a bit small, but comfortable, but of course the freeway noise and if you needed a fridge you'd have to use the one in the shared kitchen. Good thing we have a portable freezer for JJ's food. I believe they serve pastries and I do know there coffee in the lobby which I had before we left the next morning.

I read that the Moxy brand is directly aiming for Gen Z customers and I could tell by the decor.

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I'm probably the wrong target audience!

Like many boutique hotels these days; the check in counter doubles as a pseudo "bar" of sorts. And as a bonus, upon check-in you receive a token for a free cocktail from a list. After our nice dinner, I took JJ out to the lobby and had a decent Gin and Tonic.

It was the quiet time of the year in Santa Barbara, so it was relaxing to hang in the playfully designed lobby with JJ. A nice way to spend our last evening in Santa Barbara.

Moxy Santa Barbara
12 East Montecito St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Yes, I was learning to take time to "stop and smell the flowers"…….

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Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Shalhoob’s Funk Zone Patio and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. (Santa Barbara)

April 4, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Beer, Dog Friendly, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County, Travel

After our stroll along State Street, we settled into our hotel; the Moxy. We took a short nap and then had to decide on dinner. A couple of places on my "list" were closed; several of them for "Employee appreciation parties"! Pretty nice; I'm guessing Super Bowl Sunday is pretty quiet round these parts. There was one place I wanted to try; Santo Mezcal, but they don't do reservations and there was a 90 minute wait.

There was one interesting place I had on my "list", it was all outdoor dining, which was perfect for JJ. Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio was just barely two blocks away. An extension of a company that runs several butcher shops, the menu has everything from tacos to burgers to BBQ, and beer of course. So, we walked on over.

The Funk Zone is an interesting location; there are wineries, restaurants, breweries, shops, and even some houses sprinkled among auto shops, warehouses, it has a real industrial transitioning to hipster feel.

The actual restaurant used to be the main "cutting room" for the butcher shops and has now been converted.

While the few parking spaces were taken….the place was maybe half full. There was a large screen television mounted on a large golf cart showing the Super Bowl pregame.

You order at the counter, they give you a number, and you have a seat at one of the tables or barrels. The Missus wanted a beer! Go figure! The features brews made inhouse. Not quite knowing what the Missus would want; I got a Funk Zone Blonde to go with what the Missus ordered; the Funk Zone Lager.

Turns out the Missus preferred the Blond Ale….whew…good thing I got that, right?

The Missus wanted a 1/4 Rack St Louis style BBQ ribs ($10.95), with a side of Street Corn ($8.95). I went with the Oak Smoked Tri-Tip Sandwich ($16.50). The woman working the counter was very nice.

The Tri-Tip Sandwich was pretty good; the meat a bit on the drier side, but tender enough. There was a very nice smoke ring, and so I knew the assertive smokiness of Oak would be front and center.

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I think the pico de gallo was kind of overwhelmed by the smokiness of the tri-tip, though the garlic bread and aioli came thru nicely; adding some moistness and a rich-mild pungency to the sandwich. The BBQ Sauce, which I believe is St Louis style was a bit too sweet for my taste, but this was an enjoyable sandwich overall.

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The "street corn" was sweet and maizey; though it had too much other "stuffs".

Was still pretty good.

I had reservations about the ribs; but they turned out to be pretty good.

Like the tri-tip, the BBQ sauce was a tad on the sweeter side; but the ribs were tender, quite smokey. It might be a bit much for some folks, but the Missus enjoyed the smokiness and the "fall off the bone tenderness" was quite good.

This ended up being a relaxing and enjoyable meal for us. Just what we needed on this day.

Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio
220 Gray Ave.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel. JJ was pooped as was the Missus. I'm not sure why since I had been the one doing the driving up from San Diego! I decided to take the opportunity, since JJ wouldn't be displaying his yappy separation anxiety, to walk over to the Figueroa Mountain Brewing tap room a block away and watch the end of the Super Bowl. Like the rest of the area, things were pretty mellow. There was only one table taken and a couple of folks over at the bar.

I had a Frozen Goat Weizenbock.

Fairly boozy, fruity – yeasty notes.

And I took in the last quarter of the Super Bowl and chatted with one of the local guys, who told me that the sports bars around the area are pretty busy, but many places close during Super Bowl Sunday. He lives on State Street and walked on over here.

Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. Santa Barbara
137 Anacapa St. F
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

It was a lovely end to a fun day.