Farmer’s Markets/Night Market – Page 4

2015 Rose Parade float road test #3-(another) food road trip.

August 22, 2014 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. So many events lead us to food. Today's post is about one of those days. Cathy is writing; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are reading.

Saturday, we woke up around 3:30 and let the dogs out, made coffee, threw some laundry and dishes into their respective cleaning machines and by 4:50, The Mister and I were headed North in the cool darkness of the early morning. (Other 2015 road test posts here and here.

Our first stop was Cream Pan, six minutes after it had opened. We picked up a ham and cheese croissant, orange chocolate pastry and a loaf of walnut bread, all still slightly warm, from the filled shelving displays.

Cream Pan Japonaise Bakery 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 665-8239

Back on the freeway soon enough; arrived in Pasadena and the Phoenix Decorating Company barn, just before 7 a.m..

A few 2015 Tournament of Roses parade floats were lined up on Raymond Street, ready for mechanical and maneuverability testing.

The American Armenian Rose Float Association, from Pasadena, is sponsoring this very large, beautiful float this year. It's the first time an Armenian float will participate in the parade, 100 years after an Armenian (M.S. Pashgian) was chosen as Grand Marshal for the 1915 Tournament of Roses Parade. The various details of this 'Cradle of Civilization' titled float symbolize the 'Inspiring Stories' of the American Armenian community. (Theme of the 2015 parade is 'Inspiring Stories').Here's the 'Observer' seated in the City of Hope 2015 float. He doesn't control anything, but speaks to the driver (seated more toward the center) telling him how and when to turn, steer and if the speed needs to be increased or decreased. Here's a full length view of the City of Hope 2015 Rose Parade float- it will have various beakers and flasks, a DNA strand, and 'wishes' printed on the tags, all attached to hot air balloons. Seeing the bare outline now is as interesting as seeing the finished product. (The driver sits next to the red fuel tanks).The Shriners Hospitals for Children float, "A Million Stories of Hope and Healing", was also tested that morning. The Shriner Bear rocks from left to right and is just so cute! See the small rectangle cutout at the base of the green bookmark? That's for the Observer on this float.

When we were finished with the testing, we walked to cross the Metro tracks and this time stopped to check out the public art decorating the Fillmore Metro Station.The spire (top and bottom details in the above photos) is part of the entire work at the station and titled Geologica 42. (Link to a very detailed description)(Link to a less detailed description). There is symbolism in all of it, from the baseball (at the very top), weather vane, anemometer, Bell X1 rocket ( which first broke the sound barrier, designed at CalTech and tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; locals), the number 42 (Jackie Robinson was a Pasadena Resident) …

…as well as the five bronze steamer trunks which are seats at the Gold Line stop (Harry Houdini was born in Pasadena). We walked over the tracks, to Arroyo Parkway and one block North, to Lucky Boy, for a quick breakfast.

This 24/7, drive in, walk up, American breakfast, burger and burrito joint has been here for decades and prepares quality, hearty food for a good price (without tip jars on the counter). Above, the bacon and egg platter ($6.80): 3 eggs, hash browns toast and…bacon(!) and my usual, an egg sandwich on rye ($3.35) with the included fixings of lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Served with the fresh made tomatillo based salsa, this was a great meal. Lucky Boy 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena 91105 (616) 793-0120 Website
We drove five miles East, to the parking lot of Pasadena High School on Sierra Madre Boulevard and stopped at the Pasadena Certified Farmers Market, which was already buzzing.

We try to only shop at Certified Farmers Markets and this one is particularly interesting, being in such a central location to attract local farmers. Pasadena Certified Farmers Market 2900 North Sierra Madre Boulevard, Pasadena Website

Back on the road, headed East to the 15, I wanted some coffee and yet another snack (or three) and we stopped at the Chino Hills location of 85C (a location is being built in San Diego on Clairmont Mesa at Genesee, but seems to be taking forever). This typical (grab a tray, line with paper, grab tongs and serve yourself, take to the cashier who individually bags each item for you) Taiwanese bakery chain is named because 85 degrees Centigrade is the perfect temperature for brewing coffee. There are two sets of cash registers, one dedicated to beverages (but you can order beverages from the other register also). Our snacks, a mini apple pie (puff pastry crust) ($2), Cheese bread (filled with a sweet ricotta cream cheese blend)($1.50) and a Calamari stick (which was round, filled with cheese and topped with garlic)($1).

Sea salt beverages are available here. Above an iced sea salt coffee ($3)and an iced sea salt (mountain green) tea ($2.75). There was no sugar added and each tasted wonderful, with the brewed beverage topped with a dollop of chilled steamed milk with sea salt crystals on the bottom, slightly blended in (swirling the container helps). The flavor meshing is amazing. 85C Bakery Cafe 12959 Peyton Drive Chino Hills 91709 website

We were home by noon. Hoping you have an interesting weekend!

Saturday Morning in Vista: Lamb’s Head at Vamos a Texcoco and a visit to the Vista Farmer’s Market

November 23, 2013 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Mexican Restaurants

*** I'm dedicating this first part of the post to FOY "Billy", who told me he was going to get his fix of lamb this weekend. I hope you did, Billy!

During the past week, the Missus told me She was in mood for a drive, but still staying within San Diego County. She also enjoyed the food I had brought back from Vamos a Texcoco. So we decided to head out to Vista for breakfast.

We arrived about ten minutes or so after opening, before the large families arrived. The Missus started with what She deemed a nice cup of Café de olla.

As on my previous visit, I ordered the Mixiote.

This tends to be quite assertive in flavor and the last time the Missus mixed my leftovers with the order of barbacoa and really enjoyed it. This time though, she had something else in mind.

She decided to go whole hog….errr…..lamb and order the lamb head. Which is a good choice for us. After being married so ling, there's a kind of interesting harmony in eating sometimes. The Missus loves the eyeballs, not my favorite thing. I like tongue….you but open the back and scrape all the meat out, not Missus' fave. I'm ok with brains, the Missus loves the texture, but doesn't care for the after taste, which is mildly minerally-fishy. Of course we both love the cheek meat….it don't get more flavor-packed than that stuff.

They also serve the head "boneless"….hey, I know a few who would qualify for that…ummm, sorry to digress. But half the fun is doing the scrapping of every single wonderful flavor packed portion of the lamb's head.

Since we had gotten there early and they weren't slammed, the folks serving us were so friendly and nice. We had a rather rich breakfast that kept us the whole day.

Vamos a Texcoco
950 E Vista Way
Vista, CA 92084
Hours:
Open Daily 9am – 9pm

Now the round trip to Vista and back is over 60 miles for us, so I mentioned to the Missus that Vista had a Saturday Farmer's Market. It was fairly close to "Vamos" so we decided to check it out. We really enjoyed ourselves….as a plus, walking around a bit helped digestion as well. So here's a few photos from earlier today.

The Missus bought a 7 pound bag of Fuyu Persimmons ($10) and we got some natural dog treats for Da' Boyz. We loved the laid-back atmosphere. We'll be back.

Here's an interesting fact; established in 1981, the Vista Farmer's Market is the longest running farmer's market in San Diego County.

Vista Farmer's Market
325 S Melrose Dr
Vista, CA 92081
Hours
Saturday 8am – 1pm

2014 Rose Parade Float Road Testing-Baja Ranch Supermarket-Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

October 27, 2013 Cathy Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food-centric blog. There are numerous ways to find and acquire ready made food and ingredients for meals at home. Today Cathy will share a couple of those ways along with sharing a bit of a quick Road Trip from San Diego. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing today.

The Mister and I woke up late yesterday morning. It was 4:45 a.m. and the dogs had to be fed and let out, we dressed quickly and were out the door at 5:07 a.m.. There was a low fog overhanging the freeway the entire drive. We got to the Red Hill exit from the 5 (in Tustin) around 6:25 a.m. and stopped at the Starbucks for coffee then drove up the street to Cream Pan and picked up three hot, fresh pastries. The cinnamon pecan roll ($3), which is filled with crispy, whole pecans; a raspberry bottomed cheescake in a paper cup ($2) and a ham and cheese croissant ($2.50)…light breakfast to eat in the car. The freeway entrance is just around the corner.

In about 45 minutes, we were in Pasadena, parked, crossed the Metro tracks and the Rose Parade float Road Test was already underway. The eHarmony.com float (the first dot com float ever in a Rose Parade) was going to be tested with people on board. (During the parade, Natalie Cole will be on the float, singing along the parade route).What will end up being the last float in the parade was also being tested- it looks like a football…and it looks like two GIANT screens will be inserted into those frames…we don't know, but speculate may be playing highlights of either prior Rose Bowl Games (2014 will be the 100th anniversary of the Rose Bowl Football game) or of prior parades (2014 will be the 125th Tournament of Roses parade). We'll have to wait and see… This VERY large float will be one of the first you will see in the parade- it is by Honda, the sponsor. we suspect it will look somewhat futuristic, because

it will be preceeded by these five smaller (powed by Honda motocycles and one driver, no 'viewer' inside) floats, depicting various "Dreams Come True"-the parade theme-along time… The famous WWII poster (and some sort of circular float behind it).

A sort of Model T vehicle.

A construct of the Spirit of St. Louis. There's also a small diorama depicting Man landing on the moon.

Other floats tested were in their basic stages… The City of Beverly Hills will be celebrating 100 years as a City and will have a float in the 2014 Rose Parade.

The RFD-TV float looks like a large barn-like dance floor will be on the front of the float, with smaller buildings behind. I'm interested in seeing how this ultimately will appear. The front piece, made with heavy steel beams (instead of rebar) is unique.

We left the road testing area, and had no plans for breakfast, drove up to Orange Grove Boulevard and stopped at Baja Ranch Market, which I only mentioned slightly in another float road test post last November. We wanted to grab another quick bite. When you first walk into this medium sized Mexican/Latin American Market, you are in the Bakery area.

It is right around the corner, next to an extensive steam tray area.

We picked up 1/2 lb of those fresh chicharron from the end tray.

and also asked for one of each flavor of the empanadas- the ham and cheese and the ground beef (which is made with corse ground hamburger, hard boiled egg, olives and raisins; a very traditional and wonderful flavor combination), sometimes called 'picadillo'.

We also picked up a few other items, went to the car and started driving East while munching on an empanada.

Baja Ranch Supermarket 475 Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena 91101 website

Parking on a side street, we had a short walk to the Saturday Pasadena Farmer's Market on Sierra Madre Boulevard (see Pasadena High to the right? The set up of booths is in the parking lot of the school.) This is the street where the Rose Parade floats line up at the end of the parade route.

I have become enamoured with young, small, tender jicama ever since I bought it here. It is so good, a bit sweet and easily a craving without needing to be mixed with other foods or topped with Tajin.

The autumn vegetables and fruits are in abundance. This Farmers market is central to so many farms and really is the nicest one I've encountered other than the one I went to when I was young..

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

Escondido World Marketplace (a swap meet with food)

October 26, 2013 Cathy Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food-centric blog. Today, the post will end up about food, but the story of how to find it is part of the fun. It's Cathy writing today, by the way; the guys (Kirk and Ed (from Yuma)) are both crazy busy.

I've been planning (collecting photos) to write a post about the food vendors and items available at Kobey's Swap Meet and the ten or more food trucks parked at the Spring Valley Swap Meet each weekend. However, the most interesting (food-wise) Swap Meet in the County is in Escondido, surrounded by West Mission Ave, North Quince Street, West Washington Avenue and Rock Springs Road.

For a very long time, the Escondido Swap Meet was the name of this location. Escondido World Market has been the name of this space since 2011. It's open Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and, as all Swap Meets, charges admission ($1 on Wed and Sat, $2 on Fri and Sun)(Hours are at end of post).

Once you walk in. the Swap Meet sales areas are to your left, the stands selling fruits, vegetables and other Produce items are straight ahead and to the right are the 12 or so permanent structures selling food. The above photo is looking left.

Covered sellers areas with some 'standard' items (lots of women's clothing, used and refurbished tools, athletic gear, kitchen items, religious items…garage sale sellers) On this day there were quite a few empty stalls in the covered areas.

The Produce-fruits, vegetables, herbs, chiles (fresh hot peppers and dried-those are some very large habañeros Manzano (Rocoto) peppers in the middle photo), nuts and many, many other choices are situated under covered stalls, all in one lane, staying cool and undamaged in the sun of the day. This lane is straight ahead as you walk in the entrance, and right next to it…

are the permanent structures which house the various food vendors.

There are several spaces selling an array of aguas frescas and juices (I bought a small ($2) of the dark green on the far right- it's spinach, cucumber, celery and pineapple…you can see the foam on the top of that juice jug- and also on the top of the yellow one; pineapple does that when juiced).

Here's a sandwich board sign in front of another vendor.

This small shop turned out to be my favorite- items from Oaxaca, brought in from Tijuana that morning. Note the second from bottom on the sign-chapulines…

Pan de Muertos -Day of the Dead bread, traditionally sold this time of the year. Inexplicibly topped with plastic faces as well as sesame seeds. These were $10 and were on sale last weekend; the lady said she'll have larger loaves this weekend. There are other pastries, cookies, baked tortillas and several other items for sale here.

I decided to buy some red mole ($8/lb). There was green mole (unlabled ingredients) for the same price for sale in the Produce section, and I'll try that after I finish this batch.

Chapulines- fried grasshoppers. $5 for a good size bag. Crispy, lemon and salt topped and quite definitely alfalfa/grassy in flavor (which is exactly what the nice lady explained to me, while stressing they were organic). A nice snack, or they can be put into sauces.

I was able to edit and zoom in…Those are intestines in the foreground, and tripe and other parts near the back of the grill.

The Mister wanted to try 'real' Tostilocos ($5.50). This was HUGE, hardly any chips on the bottom, filled with a lot of cueritos (sliced pigs ears), cucumber, jicama, chamoy sauce, tamarind and cacahuate (coated peanuts). This was an excellent excellent breakfast.

But, I had to try more…a birria taco with beans-excellent stewed meat, beans, toppings and tortillas.

and a pupusa (the taco + pupusa price was $4.50), which was made after I ordered it and brought out to our seat in front…the side of curtido was not 'dumbed down' and was crispy fresh with a good amount of heat, complimenting the 'plain' corn flavor of the thick, fresh, hand made dough, which was filled with both beans and cheese (I was asked which I wanted or if I wanted both).

Here's a cross section of the pupusa- that's a Mexican cheese inside along with the very flavorful beans. Really good.

There were at least two vendors selling mariscos (seafoods), but those places were crowded…

If you aren't in a mood for Mexican food of any type, there is an option.

Escondido World Market 635 West Mission Avenue Escondido 92025 (760) 233-7703 Hours: Wed: 7-3, Fri 2-9:30, Sat 8-3, Sun 7-3:30. Admission $1 on Wed and Sat, $2 on Fri and Sun Website

Andy’s Coffee Shop & 2014 Rose Parade road test & Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

September 22, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy busy busy right now, so Cathy is writing a post for today.

Yes, another road test for some floats that will participate in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade was conducted on Saturday and The Mister and I woke early so we could be there at 7 a.m. Since this is a food blog, the first part of this post is about our breakfast that morning.

Andy's Coffee Shop is located on Colorado Boulevard; it's easy to miss (parking is in back and we are always looking for cars on the street to see if a place is open).

Inside, it's a step back to the 1950's. In fact, a few episodes of Mad Men were filmed here.

There are photographs signed by famous stars of the past. The large photos are of crowds camped in front of the storefront to watch the Rose Parade.

The Mister ordered French Toast ($5). It's made with fresh bread, unlike when we make it at home with days old bread. So very good- crunchy on the exterior and creamy soft on the interior.

I ordered a bacon and egg sandwich on rye toast ($7.25). Really really good and served with crispy hash browns.

This was a very good meal and we enjoyed sitting at the "U" shaped lunch counter in the center of the room, seeing the hustle and bustle of the workers: the booths and tables were taken.

Andy's Coffee Shop 1234 Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91106 (626)793-0825 Mon-Sat 7-3, Sun 7-2

Before our breakfast on this overcast morning, we were on Raymond Street

The colorful float with them "So Near and Yet Safari" is very animated with the gazelles racing, giraffes bowing their necks and elephant ears flapping as well as water flowing from the top of the 'rock' formation. Behind that float, you can see the "Banner" float- which will introduce the 2014 parade with it's theme of "Dreams Come True".

Here is the City of Glendale float, covered in its cocoon. Last month, it was only out of rebar and a lot of the design wasn't very clear.

The CIty of Los Angeles float was also in it's rebar form last month. Now that it's covered and partly painted, the details are emerging.

Above, you can see the City of Los Angeles float in its collapsed state (so it can fit into the Phoenix Decorating barn as well as under street and signal lights along the parade route) and you can also see the head of the Chinese dragon, which is painted with its colors and ready to be decorated. All items covering the float must be natural, alive or had been alive and in case glue fails or items are washed off by rain, you'll still see color when watching the floats in person or on television. I think it's nice that the dragon will be on the 'other' side of the float- away from the television cameras-people sitting on that side of the street sometimes don't get to see a lot of the float details.

After our breakfast, we stopped at our usual Saturday morning Pasadena trek- the Farmers Market, held in the parking lot of Pasadena High on Sierra Madre Boulevard.

You can see the cloud covered Sierra Madres in the distance…very overcast. That's the booth where we always buy a loaf of seed filled, corn meal bottomed rye bread for $4.75. It's so good.

This market is my favorite out here; it's busy and the vendors are knowledgeable and the variety is amazing.

We drive North on the 5 and home on the 15…where we passed a convoy of about ten Marine LAVs (Light Armored Vehicles; they float)…another Saturday of fun. Hope you are having a good weekend!

House of Cookies, Pasadena Farmers Market and 2014 Rose Parade float testing

July 14, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!-a blog about food and the events leading to acquiring said food. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy acquiring and Cathy is posting today.

Hi. I'm writing this post about our day in backwards order…we stopped at House of Cookies last on this road trip to Pasadena, but it's been our destination since we parked in front of it on the first day of the year and today we had time.

The signage for House of Cookies is visible…if you look for it. The doorway is small as is the interior of this family run Armenian bakery.

As you walk in, there are cookies packaged and on the shelves at the door…

There's a refrigerated case with cakes to your right…

and small pastries in another refrigerated case at the back wall, next to another set of shelves of cookies. Yes- those are the prices.

It's *tiny* insde- four adults have difficulty turning around if all are inside at the same time. The husband and wife owners are very friendly. They are Armenian (as are a few of the businesses in this area) and only on Saturdays, they fry a few items (seen above, on the front counter) and offer them for sale- the powdered sugar covered rounds are filled with a custard, the oval shaped fried cakes are filled with either a peppery mashed potato filling or a ground meat filling. (The fried items are $1)

We also purchased what's in the photo above. The fruit topped one has a delicate crust and the same not too sweet cream filling as in the round fried donut. The eclairs are marvelous, not too large, fresh, not too sweet… and the flaky cream filled horn was perfect. We bought all the above, plus two meat filled and one potato filled. ($7.20-total. Really) You can see the delicate layers of the fried sweet donut, and just a little of the custard filling layer: not too much, not too sweet; perfect! Did I mention it was still warm?

Lightly fried, still warm, perfectly seasoned ground meat…these little meat pies are wonderful- and only made on Saturday.

A **wonderful** local place.

House of Cookies 2451 East Washington Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-4280

Before stopping at the House of Cookies, we were just down the street – Pasadena High School- which has a Farmers Market in the parking lot every Saturday morning. I've written a few posts about this market.

On this day, almost every booth -and one entire booth- had fresh peaches available. I suspect in a few weeks, the same will be true for tomatoes.

This is a really nice Market, filled with a great variety of booths with beautiful fresh produce, flowers and other products. It's busy, bustling and filled with pleasant odors of fresh.

I really enjoy looking and shopping here. Overhearing the farmers telling cutomers that regular cabbage is not growing now and only Napa is available…and that the lemons from last week are all gone and the only ones are still white and on the tree is a good sign that the farmers here bring quality products to sell.

Our real reason for waking at 4 a.m. Saturday July 13; it was another Road Test day for the floats that will participate in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade, being held for the 125th time. (Here's a link to the first road test)-at the Rose Palace assembly and decorating barn of Phoenix Decorating.

The Trader Joe's float, "Relish Your Dreams", is in the basic/rebar phase of construction and looks to have wheels of cheese, pickles and crackers as well as some small appetizer forks. I haven't seen the Artist Rendition yet and can see the float is very detailed.

Last month, the City of Alhambra float as in its rebar stage and now it was road tested in the 'cocoon' stage. It's a "Monster" truck- complete with monsters! Rotary International's float, "Engage Rotary, Change Lives" was road tested with adults aboard today. Last month, it was wood and foam over rebar.

Shriners Hospital for Children with it's "Love to the Rescue" titled float, Lions Club International and Lutheran Hour Ministries were also road tested with people on board.

The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float was driving down Raymond Street when we got there this morning-this is the 'camera view' side of the float; more detailed than the other side…

Having the people onboard- and having them all able to get off the float in 45 seconds (in case of fire)- is the final stage of Road Testing and the floats will be stored at the Barn next to the Rose Bowl Stadium (the Rosemont Pavillion) until the first Saturday in December, when 'detail decorating' begins.

The Kiwanis float is very detailed, with an owl in one tree and an eagle at the top of another tree.

The Donate Life float is a group of lanterns and the float is titled "Light up the World". I heard that the float will have organ donor families and recipients riding on it and walking along the five mile parade route next to the float.

The Western Assets float was also tested today. You can see a giraffe rebar outline to the left. I also saw what looked like gazelle and elephant outlines.

Well, that was an early and busy Saturday. We woke at 4 a.m, left at 4:59 a.m. and got back into the driveway at one minute after noon… Hope you had a good weekend!

Big Island: South Kona Green Market and Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company

April 18, 2013 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Markets & Grocers

After a nice lunch at The Manago Hotel, we noticed a "farmer's market" across the street.

It was the Sunday South Kona "Green Market".

There weren't too many produce stands, but lots of health food and "new age-y" type booths.

It was quite amusing. I turned to the Missus and told Her; "the sixties never ended, it just moved to South Kona". Seeing the all health products made me feel kind of guilty having eaten that nice pork chop across the street, but that didn't last very long…….

We jumped in the car heading toward Kona. But instead of stopping there we ended up all the way in Kawaihae and the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company. The reason I remembered the place was because of the last photo in this post.

Part store, part factory, part tour, samples galore.

Like the sign says…."welcome to the nut house"………

After sampling just about everything they had out and chugging some samples of Kona coffee, I pretty much decided that the best items were plain nuts, the Spam flavored(more like bacon), and some of the glazed stuff.

All hail the shrine of Spam nuts……

There's a production line behind the window…….

you can even get your, ahem, nuts cracked…..

We had the whole place to ourselves and the nice ladies working here were a hoot!

As we paid for our stuff a minivan of tourists arrived and they were organizing a short "tour"….our que to hele on.

Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company
61-3251 Maluokalani St
Kawaihae, HI 96743

Roadtrip: Torrance Farmer’s Market and a revisit to Tasty Noodle House (San Gabriel)

March 20, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Road Trip

The Missus and I had a great time in Vegas and our time there ended on a high note. When we initially made plans for our short jaunt to Las Vegas, we thought we'd do what we've done before, make a quick stop in the SGV for a meal then hit the road home. But after thinking things through, we decided to spend a night in Hacienda Heights. After all, we lived in the area for a good chunk of time. It would be nice for old times sake. We also decided to do some of the things we used to do on a Saturday……that would be hit the Torrance Farmer's Market. So we left Vegas at around 545am and made it to the Torrance Farmer's Market in no time at all!

I've already posted on the Torrance Farmer's Market three times already, so I'll spare you a rehash of the same old story……

Ice chest full of produce, we stopped and topped off the gas tank and headed to San Gabriel.

I'd been craving the Tianjin Baozi from Tasty Noodle House for a while, so that's where we stopped for lunch.

Remember, it was still January, so the Missus was still in the mood for soup and ordered the Suan Cai Yang Rou – Sour Vegetable and Lamb soup which was both warming and cleansing, if not super good.

I prefer mine a bit more sour and salty…..but this did fine.

Of course we got the Tianjin Baozi, which was just as I recall, yeasty aroma, light and fluffy, with a light, yet tasty pork filling.

Just the fragrance takes me back to China.

Seems like everyone who eats here orders this. A guy comes in, has one order for lunch, then proceeds to get five orders to go. Though I don't think you really the full enjoyment of these after reheating.

I could probably eat this a couple of times a week.

Tasty Noodle House
827 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776

After lunch we took our time driving up to Rowland Heights and wandered around the neighborhood…..up and down the streets we used to drive on often….Nogales, Harbison, Azusa, Colima….. We checked into the Courtyard a bit early and got a nap in…..then it was dinner time of course!

Big Island: Akaka Falls, Hilo Farmer’s Market, Suisan, and other “stuffs”

February 20, 2013 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Poke, Travel

Our little road trip took us from the Keauhou Farmer's Market, through Kamuela, with a stop at Village Burger. Just outside Hilo, we made a stop at one of those "old familiar places", Akaka Falls State Park….which actually has two waterfalls; the smaller Kahuna Falls….and the "Big Kahuna", Akaka Falls.

The trail here is really easy, about a half mile total and was a good opportunity for the Missus and I to get out and stretch our legs.

Not much has changed here….except there's now a $5 parking fee.

There's something about bamboo that cools me and gives me that relaxed "aaaahhh" feeling.

Before heading to our hotel, we drove into Hilo, near the airport and hit up Big Island Candies.

I've often recommended visiting Big Island Candies when in Hilo, but always add on…."make sure to bring money." They'll start serving you samples from the time you walk in the door, don't be surprised if you've done the ol' credit card damage before leaving. I was surprised not to see a tour bus or two in the parking lot while we were there.

Instead of staying around Banyan Drive, we opted for the Dolphin Bay Hotel, in a semi-residential area, right across the Wailuku River from downtown Hilo. The place reminded me of those 60's-70's apartments I grew up in. No A/C, but there was a kitchenette….so we decided, as we often do, to self cater.

I'm lucky enough to remember the fish auction at Suisan, long gone now. Suisan is still the major food and seafood distributor on the island and of course the shop on Lihiwai Street is still open for business.

The Missus was shocked when She asked for samples they'd give Her a couple of pieces of fish to try. I was surprised at the quality of fish for the price.

We ended up buying some "stuffs" for dinner.

If you're staying on Banyan Drive, Lihiwai street is close by.

It also seems that if you buy fish from Suisan, you can take it to the shop next door and they'll fry it up for you.

Suisan Company Limited
93 Lihiwai St
Hilo, HI 96720

We were happy to arrive on Saturday, because Suisan, like most of the other shops in Hilo is closed on Sunday…….we often joke that everyday feels like Sunday in Hilo, so Sunday feels like Christmas Day without the festivities!

We wanted to hit up one of our favorite places in Hilo, the Hilo Farmer's Market. We'd be leaving early the next morning, so even though the place was winding down, we wanted to see if things were as we remembered.

Even though the Farmer's Market runs 7 days a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays are the busiest, with the most vendors. You can get everything from rambutan to musubis here. The Missus loves the papaya from the market.

Located on the corner of Kamehameha Avenue and Mamo Street, you really shouldn't miss it if you're in Hilo.

Hours:

Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sunday 7am – 4pm

Wed and Sat 6am – 4pm

It really seemed like Hilo hadn't changed much……. After driving back to the hotel, the Missus decided on going for a walk….a loooong walk. We'd pretty much seen most of Hilo during our previous visits, so I thought why not.? We walked from the hotel right off of Puueo Street onto Kamehameha Avenue, drifting in and out of businesses, finally stopping on Bishop Street….here you can see a bridge over the Wailoa River.

It hard to believe that this area was once Shinmachi "New Town", a "thriving community" which was wiped out in the tsunamis of 1946 and 1960. If you ever have the chance, check out the small, but interesting Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo.

It was getting a bit sticky out and we headed back….stopping at KTA to refresh ourselves in the A/C and pick up some liquid refreshment. Dinner itself was quite satisfying, all the great veggies and the saussicon we bought at the Keauhou Farmer;s Market.

Because we had samples of the poke from Suisan, we knew we'd enjoy it. Though there seemed to be a lot of "sauce", the two poke we had weren't salty. The Missus preferred the wasabi poke.

There was just enough wasabi in this with a touch of sweetness.

The furikake poke was also good, though not quite as good as the wasabi version.

We both really took to something they called "Hawaiian Candy" at Suisan. It's very crisp, dried fish….crunchy like candy, salty like dried fish, it has an addictive quality that we both enjoyed.

Since this doesn't need refrigeration it lasts and we snacked on it during the rest of our trip. Good stuff!

We had tried the Mehana Red Ale earlier in the trip, so we opted for the Pale Ale, which turned out to be a bit too "hoppy" for the Missus. I still enjoyed it though. I would have enjoyed visiting the brewery, but we were in Hilo outside of their hours…..we'll get that in next time.

Of course, we had to have some boiled peanuts which the Missus just couldn't get enough of. I think She would be perfectly happy if all we ate was poke and boiled peanuts the entire time we were home.

We also finished up the tamarillos…..

Because we'd be getting an early start the next morning, we crashed early….but man, those coqui frogs, an invasive species of tiny, quarter sized frogs from Puerto Rico which make a very loud "KOOO-KEEE" sound kept me awake. I don't recall it being this bad before. Yikes! Oh well, we were on vacation, so what a couple of million frogs mating outside our window, right? Perhaps things had changed in Hilo since our last visit after all…….

Big Island – Keauhou Farmer’s Market

January 5, 2013 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hawai'i - The Big Island

We left for Hilo on a Saturday morning, so we decided to drive back to the Keauhou Shopping Center on our way out of Kona. We had read a banner about the Keauhou Farmer's Market on Saturdays and had decided that maybe doing a bit of self catering might be the way to go for dinner. Of course there's still the Hilo's Farmer's Market, but the Missus was really enjoying the local produce…so why not? Also, I thought I'd grab something for breakfast as well.

The market is located in the "Long's side" of the shopping center and didn't seem very large…..but we enjoyed the range of merchants.

The stand that seemed to be getting the most attention was this one.

And with good reason. We bought a bag of tomatoes and a couple of cucumbers…they would be the best we would have on the trip.

Most of the folks here seemed to be regulars….the vendors knew a lot of them by name.

In the end, the Missus and I split up….She went to find some kale and other stuff, while I decided to get something to eat from here.

We didn't have anything in the way of a cooler or anything, but the weather wasn't particularly hot. I decided to buy a saussicon, a cured sausage which would hold up for dinner.

This shop made a nice variety of charcuterie, so I thought why not grab something for breakfast? The had an Asian influenced sausage and made something called a Banh Mi Royale…..I know, I'm not a fan of sticking anything in a roll and calling it a banh mi, but thought why not.

So while th Missus had cucumber, tomatoes, and other stuff, I had the banh mi royale.

The sausage itself was pretty tasty as was the chili mayo, but there was just too much of it slathered all over the rather routine roll. Way too much cilantro as well. The saucisson, however was delicious and would be a nice part of our dinner.

The Missus had found a stand selling this.

It's called a tamarillo, also known as tree tomato. And is also from the nightshade family. It has a very thick skin, which is slightly bitter, the pulp is very much tomato like, nice acid and a bit sweet. We would see this fruit several more times while on the island, so I guess it's being grown here now. Apparently, the fruit, native to South America, is now being grown, harvested, and exported from New Zealand as well. We may start seeing these more in the near future.

We really enjoyed the short time we spent here and will return when in the area in the future. We were eating, sitting on the parking lot wall, and admiring this view……..

Talk about a nice morning……

Keauhou Farmer's Market in the Keauhou Shopping Center
Saturday 8am – 12pm
78-6831 Alii Drive
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740