Festivals & Events – Page 6

Montreal – The Mont-Royal Street Festival and La Banquise

May 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Beer, Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Montreal, Travel

During our last evening in Montreal, I wanted something in particular….poutine! The Missus decided to humor me. And to make things even better, She decided we could catch the metro instead of walking all the way to our destination.

So, we got out at the Mont-Royal metro stop and wouldn't you know, there was a street festival taking place.

We couldn't help but really enjoy the chill and relaxing vibe of the street festival.

One of my favorite scenes on this trip was when the gentleman below heard the DJ put "his song" on and just dropped his bags and started……well, calling it dancing might be a stretch. But we just loved it.

We had such a good time that we actually went past the street we needed to turn on and walked all the way until the end of the street fair.

Not sure when it'll be this year….but this was a lot of fun.

Anyway, we turned on Avenue Papineau and backtracked until we came to a place I was looking forward to eating at. La Banquise.

During discussions about poutine in Montreal, this 24 hour-a-day "poutinerie" would always somehow be mentioned. La Banquise is one of those beloved institutions having been around for 50 years. They also have 30 plus variations of poutine on the menu….though there was only one I was after.

Even at this rather early hour for dinner, the place was humming. Though we had no wait, almost all the tables were taken. We were seated in the covered back area……topped by a bright red-orange tarp, it made all my photos come out rather reddish. So my apologies.

I started with another thing I wanted to try, a Bec Cola. Produced in Montreal with maple syrup being the primary sweetener….well, it was a "must try". This wasn't highly carbonated, with a typical, perhaps slightly bitterish at first taste….but with a definite maple syrup flavored finish. It was refreshing on quite a warm day.

As for my poutine? Well, I'd already had a rabbit poutine in Quebec City and on the previous night, it was an over-the-top foie gras poutine. Here, I just wanted a "classic".

This was by far, my favorite poutine of the trip. It wasn't salty, the cheese curds weren't tough, with a slight "squeak", the gravy had a decent tongue coating beefiness and there wasn't too much of it. The potatoes weren't particularly crunchy, but there was a definite sweetness and deep potato flavor to them. I mentioned this to Cathy who said that she believes the potatoes are grown in excellent soil and left in the ground longer to develop the sugars better.

The Missus, still swooning from the Smoked Meat sandwich at Schwartz's ordered the version with smoked meat.

This wasn't bad….but I'll take the classic version any day of the week.

We were amazed to have finished everything off….and didn't feel stuffed or gross……just totally satisfied.

La Banquise
994 Rue Rachel E
Montreal, Canada
Open 24 Hours

If you want to read more about La Banquise, you can do so here.

Of course the Missus insisted that we walk back to the apartment.

And it "just so happened" as we passed Au Pied de Cochon, we ran smack dab into a chocolate shop.

And the Missus was a happy camper.

Les Chocolats de Chloé
546 Avenue Duluth E
Montréal, Canada

The rest of the walk was uneventful….though I loved the name of this place…..

As we settled in for the night; I opened up the last beer in the fridge. Remember getting those brews by Unibroue on sale for $3.99CAD?

Even the Missus enjoyed this Belgian White Ale with Apple.

Life was indeed good……

Thanks for reading!

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade: Post Parade Showcase of floats, Snacks and a meal: Cream Pan (Tustin), Arsen House of Cookies (Pasadena), T Burgers (Monrovia)

January 7, 2018 Cathy Bakery, Burgers, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a food blog, but there are many events surrounding meals. Both Kirk and Cathy like to write about that aspect of the eventual meals. Today, Cathy is writing.

The 2018 Tournament of Roses, with the theme "Making A Difference", is over. There were numerous events and activities between Christmas and December 31-the Bands and Equestrian Units had presentations, you could visit float decorating places and a two day event, "Live on Green". The parade and football game were on January 1. Following the parade, the floats lined up on Sierra Madre (at the end of the 5.5 mile parade route) and were on display (the Post Parade Showcase of Floats) from 1 p.m. on January 1 and again from 9 a.m. on January 2.

There was a little advertised way to get into all of the Official Tournament events for one very small price- The Event Pass Pin was sold for the first time this year at the Tournament House, the Pasadena Museum of History, Vromans Bookstore and online for $10! (The fee just to view the floats at the Showcase was $15 per person this year).

There were road tests of the floats in July, August, September, October and November. The Mister and I helped to decorate floats in early December. There are more details and excellent reporting of all Tournament events at this link to The Rose Examiner.

I could not decide how to show you the floats: there were 44 in the Parade. Six were not judged, six were self constructed and the others were constructed by four professional float companies. 24 were recognized with awards. All of the floats were beautiful, detailed, magnificent and decorated by volunteers, especially the week following Christmas when the live flowers were delivered. Each float deserved to be recognized.

So, I had to pick and choose through my photos (so you wouldn't be bored). There were surreal floats.

There were little details on every float…

(These guys were on the 'off camera' side of their float, you never saw them if you were watching the parade on television.)
One of the record breaking floats held 100 people- two farmers from every state in the Union.
There were cute floats (but all of them were cute, weren't they?)

I could mention the mishaps which happened at the end of the parade route…

(it seems the float operators forgot (or weren't warned as to when) to collapse the float at the end of the route, resulting in some damage).

It was a great theme, a great parade and I have at least two photos of every float. If there is one in particular you would like to see, I can add it at the end of this post. THIS is a link to the entire parade from KTLA TV

Soo went to see the 2018 floats, too! Maggie also has a great point of view of the post parade.

But now, we return to the Food portion of the blog…

We got to Cream Pan around 7 a.m., ordering the same items (ham and cheese croissant and a cheese cracker) we had on our last visit along with a loaf of sesame bread. The cheese based items were a light breakfast. Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Website

We had parked off of Washington Street and walked to the Blue entrance to the Post Parade Showcase of floats. On the way back to the car, we passed Arsen's House of Cookies, where we have stopped several times previously. Mrs. Arsen recognizes us and we catch up, about once a year.

We purchased some sweets for cc and for ourselves.

As well as four of the (still warm, freshly made) cheese/herb pastries on the counter. Total cost? $9. The bonus was I received an Arsen's Bakery calendar (last photo, bottom right) which will be used a lot this year.

We headed East, didn't want to take the freeway and ended up on Foothill in Monrovia. This looked like an interesting place to stop for lunch. We hadn't noticed it before, but Yelp has posts going back to 2007…
The menu has breakfasts, Greek, Mexican and American (salads, burgers and sandwich) choices.
The half pound burger ($6.39) was char-grilled and had that flavor I crave. It was cooked to order (medium rare), served on a fresh toasted bun with 'everything' (lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion and mayonnaise). As with every establishment that serves Greek/gyros, the onion rings ($3.79) were handmade, whole onions, sweet, properly fried with a cornmeal based breading. (The ranch sauce was an extra 50¢ and wasn't even necessary.)
Since we were in this part of the State which serves pastrami at almost every fast food joint (I need to do a post of all the taco shops up here which have pastrami on the signage), The Mister ordered a Pastrami sandwich ($8.99). When asked what he wanted on it, he only asked for mustard and pickles…and that's what was received. The bread to meat ratio is so wonderfully in favor of the meat…which was smoky, peppery and lean. A wonderful sandwich.

T Burgers 226 W. Foothill Drive Monrovia, CA 91016 (626)357-4844

This was the start to 2018. Almost 12,000 steps of walking and wonderful food. So far, resolutions kept!

The theme of the 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade:

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating. Meals from THH, Kolache Factory(Tustin) and Johnny’s Shrimp Boat (West Covina)

December 9, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for once again stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes (like today) shows the events surrounding the acquisition of meals. Kirk (and His Missus) are still on vacation and Cathy is writing.

Less than a month before the Tournament of Roses and float decoration has begun. The Mister and I were awake early last Saturday and got to the Phoenix Decorating Company barn in Irwindale before 8:30. So did a few hundred other people. We were there to do 'dry' decorating (fresh flowers and other fresh products start after Christmas).

I've been showing you road tests of the 2018 floats for the past few months (prior road tests linked at the top of that post), so you know in general what you are going to see. You can see artist renditions of these floats at this link.

If you'd like to read more about the Tournament and all its activities, this link to The Rose Examiner, is an excellent resource.

The Opening Unit, displaying the banner of the Theme of the 2018 parade- "Making A Difference" will be the first float you see.
The statice, in three colors, was ready for cutting. (In the background is the End Unit; last float you'll see in the parade). The statice petals (as well as other materials) are then blended in one of these BlendTec blenders and the powder is glued on parts of the float-makes the product be used efficiently. All visible parts of every float must be covered with natural materials. The scaffolds weren't set up and people were working at the lower levels on the City of Alhambra's float, "Story Time"
This material is 'paper bark'- it is prepared using stainless steel scrubbers, to be smooth- the product in the boxes in back is ready for application on the float.
Even rice is put in those blenders. The powder covers much more on a surface.An excellent example of rice powder- the inner ceiling of this three-part Honda float,which looks like this… The powdered rice is applied to the backs of the 'clouds' on the bottom the float; if it is visible, it has natural materials.

Palm bark is also used for decorating. The useable product is in the small box on top of the table.
The design on the back of the "Armenian Roots" float is similar to the Armenian Orphan rug, woven by Armenian genocide victims as a gift to President Coolidge – the tassels are raffia grass.

If you can enlarge, the black parts of the butterfly are black beans. The edge of the hearts are covered with red straw flower petals, which were not powdered: texture.Enlarging this photo shows the orange parts of this unique butterfly are lentils.
These yellow with orange edged roses are being covered with powdered yellow straw flowers. There will be about 30 of these flowers on the City of Hope Medical Center float, "Transforming Lives with Hope".
Rotary International's float, "Sowing the Seeds of Service" was being decorated from the climbing scaffolding- the hat is covered with Pac-Pac, a braided straw (you can see some Pac-Pac on the top step).
Here is the front of "Armenian Roots", depicting Mother Armenia and pomegranates, a symbolic fruit of Armenia.
Shriners Hospitals, "Caring for Kids Around the World" will be filled with details.
Lions Clubs International, "Preserving Our Environment" has multiple details, like these cattails, partly covered in dried parsnip. The Oddfellows and Rebbekahs float, "Sacrifice to Serve" has pictographs on both sides of the float. Much detail work will be completed over the next few weeks.
Kiwanis, "Racing to Serve Children" is so cute!
These are the red straw flowers, mentioned above.
The Lutheran Layman's League float, "Bringing Christ to the Nations". The Mister and I volunteer with their group, the Petal Pushers and are assigned to assist on whichever float needs assistance; our volunteering helps pay for this float, the only Christian themed float in the parade, now for the 68th year.
Detail for the Western Asset float, "Oceans of Possibility".
The United Sikh Mission float, "Serving Kindness" depicts the Sikh Langar, the worlds largest free kitchen, which serves over 100,000 meals a day and is in line with the theme of this parade "Making a Difference"
This is a 'tag along' to the Trader Joe's float,
which was still undergoing some mechanical corrections last week…the title, "Hats Off"…you'll see.

On to the food portion of this blog.

Tustin, the same parking lot and indecision for breakfast. The Mister went to the business on the left, Kolache Factory and I went to the business on the right, THH Sandwiches. An apricot and a bacon-cheese kolache from The Factory. A chicken and a pork pate chaud from THH. Enough protein to sustain and some nice carbs to enjoy.

Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website

THH 14081 Newport Ave Tustin, CA (714)731-1366 Open Mon-Sat 5 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Sun 7 am-4 pm website

We brought lunch, enjoyed in the industrial park area surrounding the decorating barn, consisting of sandwiches brought from home…

Worked until about 5 p.m. and started driving South on Vincent, one signal light East. The street name changed at some point to Glendora and we were in West Covina. We had passed here a few times this year, but Johnny's Shrimp Boat doesn't open until 9:30 a.m.. Look at it. We had to stop.
The menu is simple- there are specials for $6.95, $7.95 and $8.95. All have the option of a side consisting of rice with beans, gravy, chili or fries (or just fries) (and pretty much any combination of those items). Menu items consist of shrimp, fish, hamburger steak, pork chop, short ribs and teriyaki (beef, chicken or shrimp).
You order, pay, have a seat. There's no tipping jar. The young man out in front as well as the chef are very nice and know the 'regulars'. Your food is handed to you over the counter.
We tried the two fish, four shrimp combo with rice and beans ($7.95). The beans were plain and needed to have hot sauce added (there were condiments on the counter).

Both the fish and the shrimp were a good size, and perfectly batter fried.

There was a window sign for a $5 shrimp cocktail. It had five large, plump shrimp, was in a nicely spiced sauce with cucumber, onion, tomato and avocado…a great deal.

Good food, nice people, a great find. (Trivia: A scene from Cobra, a Stallone film, was filmed inside the Los Angeles location of Johnny's Shrimp Boat)
Johnny's Shrimp Boat 803 S. Glendora West Covina, 91790 (626) 813-3818 Open daily 9:30-9

Thanks for reading!

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test and breakfast at Farmer Boys

November 24, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Chains, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and today is probably the most non-food seeking day of the year after a huge Thanksgiving Day of snacking, feasting and now, having a refrigerator full of leftovers. Kirk (and his Missus) are enjoying some time off and Cathy is writing.

Prior 2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test posts: July, August, September, October

Want to get more updates about the entire Tournament of Roses? Look at this website!

Last weekend was the final day of announced road testing for the Phoenix Decorating Company and their 17 entries of floats for the 2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. As you will see, some of the floats are not complete yet (but the artist renditions at the link give you a good idea). There are three other float building companies and six of the floats entered in the Parade are 'self built'. The Mister and I have volunteered with the Petal Pushers for many years, decorating various floats over the years (you can, too!). The Opening Unit float, with the Parade Theme (Making A Difference) banner, will lead off the Parade (following the Opening Show, presented by Honda).
The Closing Unit float will be the final float in the parade.
Farmers Insurance is sponsoring a large float, "Honoring Hometown Heroes" which has both an old fashioned Fire Ladder Truck and Police Car and is still in the beginning construction phase. In this photo, you can see where the 'Spotter' will sit, guiding the 'Driver' (who only looks down at the Rose Colored line permanently drawn on Colorado Boulevard, following it throughout the parade route) via headset about possible upcoming driving hazards.
The Forum, A Los Angeles world class music venue, is celebrating it's 50th year with "The Story Lives On" as the float title.
The Trader Joe float, "Hat's Off~" is still under construction and I can't wait to see it, based on the artist renditions!
The floats ready for 'dry decoration' (scissors and glue are used)(the days before fresh flowers are delivered; before Christmas Day) and stored inside the Phoenix Decorating barn.

Phoenix Decorating Company Website

After we watched some of the floats driving down Ornelas Street, tested for maneuverability and safety, we drove North, crossed over the 210,
and, after a block or so, turned into the Farmer Boys parking lot (which is shared with a McDonalds). ( At the bottom of that post is a link to another Farmer Boys meal). HERE is a link to a Hungry Ones blog post.
Breakfast is served all day, the menu is simple, fresh and prepared after you order and brought to your table.
The Mister ordered a Ham and Cheese omelet (made with three eggs and chopped ham) which came with (his choice) hash browns and (again, his choice) rye toast ($7.79). Excellent, as always. I I also wanted ham and cheese, but chose the 'Daybreak' ($4.59)
It's made with two eggs
and has two whole (grilled) slices of ham. Another great meal, especially on the toasted (and buttered) roll.

Farmer Boys Website

I hope everyone is having a nice post-Thanksgiving Day (and weekend)!

2017 San Diego County Fair -“Where the West is Fun”- Part 3, the postscript (and plans for 2018)

November 7, 2017 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, sometimes writing about events associated with consumption of said food. Today, Cathy is writing.

The 2017 San Diego County Fair with the theme "How the West is Fun" ended on July 4. I gave you a 'sneak peek' before the Fair opened and also a post while the Fair was in progress. There were so many things to see and do (4,187 attractions, 1,879 concerts) over the 26 day run of the Fair that I could not list everything nor give you a recommendation of what foods to try. (There were 108 concession stands in the main area of the fairgrounds, with another 12 stands in the Family Funville/Kids Zone area). (More stats: 1,565,933 visitors attended the events, with 1,609,481 total people passing through the entrance, because some people utilized the 26 day pass, which cost less than two entrance fees). Hopefully, you had a chance to experience this fifth most attended County Fair in the USA. .

Parking at one of the offsite free parking areas, or taking public transit, which offered a 'Fair Tripper' package (combining transit fare with Fair admission at a lower price than if purchased separately) meant you were transported to the front gate while passing the perimeter. It also means you leave from the front gate and relax on the bus before having to get in your car and drive home.

Once inside the gates, daily events and contests took place at almost every turn. There were foods I didn't mention, which are worth a mention now. The Bacon-A-Fair booths did indeed serve bacon wrapped cactus-if you asked. We also ordered bacon wrapped asparagus to even out the 'meal'. The cactus was a special to go along with the Fair Theme (Where the West is Fun).
Dixie's Mini Donuts, a booth inside Bing Crosby Hall, makes the donuts in front of you. Always a nice, warm snack.

Inside the Paul Ecke Flower Garden Show area, the Iron Skillet and Smoke booth was located in a shaded area with a sort of "non-Fair" menu-The Brandt beef patty melt (topped with smoked caramelized onions, smoked cheddar on toasted corn rye, was excellent. There was also a menu on the order area listing smoked wings, which were really wonderful.

Of course, the Midway had some more 'unusual' offerings, like frozen or fried lemonade…it's a fried lemon cake, filled with a creamy lemon filling and topped with a tart, lemony icing. Quite nice and fresh. The Mister always wants to stop at Pignotti's Pasta for pesto topped cheese tortellini, and so we did on our last day attending. It's always tasty and for us, a treat.
For me, the Fair experience isn't complete without a stop at the Chuck Wagon…for a pulled pork sandwich with baked beans and slaw…and my new favorite (mentioned last year), the fried apple rings.
There were booths (and foods) we didn't make it to..but we will-next year.

The Theme of the 2018 San Diego County Fair was announced a few weeks ago. Here's the logo. Looks like it will be interesting in decoration and theme and exhibits. Something to look forward to!

Website, which is updated as more information is available.

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test, breakfast at Tom’s Farms

November 5, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk has been very busy with work, is eating but not posting. Cathy had an eating adventure after a short excursion North.

It's getting closer- the 2018 Tournament of Roses, with its many pre-New Year Day activities culminating in the January 1, 2018 parade of floats, equestrian groups and marching bands as well as the football game will soon be upon us. The theme of the parade is "Making A Difference" and floats following that theme are still being constructed and going though one of three road tests for maneuverability and safety. Last Saturday, The Mister and I drove up to Irwindale to Phoenix Decorating Company to see the progression. These are links to other road tests from earlier this year.

Honda, the sponsor of the Parade, will have this three part float, "Power of Dreams Express" (you can see artist renditions of the Phoenix Decorating Company floats HERE ).
This "Banner" float will feature the theme design on the front.

The City of Hope float, "Transforming Lives with Hope" was tested with riders on board (Usually the final test of maneuverability is with weight on board, plus a test that everyone can exit the float within 45 seconds in case of an emergency).
The United Sikh Mission USA, "Serving Kindness" is a depiction of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, where 100,000 people are fed daily without being charged. This Sikh langar (free kitchen) expresses the ethics of sharing, community, inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind…an embodiment of the "Making a Difference" theme of this parade.
This is listed as the 'final' float in the parade and the artist rendition is not online.

In the barn, the Trader Joe's float (one of three parts) was still being constructed.

We had left home late and hadn't stopped for breakfast and then were heading home, getting to the 15 South when real hunger hit.
The signage for Tom's Farms (also posted in 2014 and again in 2015) beckoned. Tom's Farms is a multipurpose area of various attractions, restaurants, furniture, grocery and produce sales, with areas for picnicking as well as a train, merry-go-round and seasonal activities geared toward children. We usually stop here to see what is on sale and grab some snacks to take home.

There's always something interesting in the candy and condiment aisles.

The Southernmost building is 'Tom's Burgers', which has breakfast in the morning.

The Mister wanted French toast ($3.99). The two slices of thick (Texas toast) soaked in egg batter and fried were crispy on the exterior and soft on the interior. Quite nice.
He splurged and ordered a side order of ham ($2.99). The pan-griddled ham slices were very good and not too salty. Since I had never had breakfast here, my order would be simple, a breakfast egg sandwich with sausage ($5.59). Well, at first I saw the egg, lettuce and tomato…
and you can see the side view- and the breakfast sausages! Wow! This was fresh, would be quite enough without any added protein, but those skin on, fresh breakfast sausages were a really high quality add in and great choice.

There will probably be some more regular stops here for meals as well as shopping.

Tom's Farms 23900 Temescal Canyon Road Corona CA 92883 (951) 277-4012 website

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing, breakfast at Aroma Craft Coffee (Walnut)

October 1, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Caffeine Fix, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!is a blog about food. Todays post includes activities leading to consumption of food. Cathy is writing.

The Mister and I were on our way to Irwindale at 5 a.m. on Saturday, arriving at Phoenix Decorating Company after 7. Four floats were being road tested for the January 1, 2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade, which has the theme "Making a Difference".

The float sponsored by Western Asset, an investment company, with it's title "Oceans of Possibility" will have no riders and will appear to be underwater (see the concentric circles on the larger dolphin nose? There are also a few more at the tips of the taller pieces of seaweed, to depict breaking the water surface) (also, water reflections on the backs of the larger mammals).

"Armenian Roots", sponsored by The American Armenian Rose Float Association (click the link to see the artist rendition of this beautiful float) was in the second phase of testing. You can see the slotted out area where the float 'spotter' will be seated. (The driver looks down, at the rose colored line down the center of Colorado Boulevard; the spotter communicates with the driver with instructions and also has their own set of brakes in case of an emergency). "Transforming Lives with Hope" is sponsored by the City of Hope Hospital system and will be a beautiful with its florals hanging from above.

The United Sikh Mission will have its third entry in the Parade in 2018. (photos of the two previous floats are at this link).
Peeking in the float barn, we saw a bit of construction happening…and then were off to find breakfast.
Last month, after leaving BMC Pho (following float road testing), we stayed on the side roads and stopped at a Starbucks in Walnut before jumping on the 60 to drive home. After leaving the Starbucks, we drove through the parking lot and had noticed

Aroma Craft Coffee, made a mental note and remembered to stop in on Saturday.

The Diedrich coffee roaster in the front window had me intrigued; it was being used to roast fresh, green coffee beans by the time we were leaving.

Walk in, order and pay, find a seat and your beverages and food are brought out to you. A perfect espresso ($3), accompanied by sparking water, was brought out first. This is how an espresso should taste; the strength yet slight sweetness of the beans came through. The Mister ordered the Prosciutto Benedict ($12). The toasted english muffin had a layer of baby spinach 'protecting' it from not getting soggy, being topped with (a generous amount of ) thin sliced, quality prosciutto, topped by perfectly poached eggs, topped with a lemony fresh made Hollandaise sauce.

I saw this item being delivered to a table while waiting in line to order. Avocado Toast ($10). Since I've never ordered avocado toast before, I technically can't give a comparison of flavors. Since I know what I like, I can say this was absolutely wonderful. The toast: multigrain-I could taste rye- there were seeds and texture and flavor to the thick slice of toasted bread, which was protected by a layer of spinach and mixed lettuces and topped with a great portion of soft scrambled eggs, topped with sliced avocado, topped with a mild soy based sauce with fresh dill.

We weren't done:

There were several these Siphon Coffee makers at the ordering counter. We ordered a cup ($7) made with this week's special roasted bean, Columbian.

This turned out to be about three (proper, 6 ounce) cups of coffee. A small shot glass 'snifter' of the grounds was provided. This was a beautiful, clear smooth cup of coffee.

A wonderful meal on a beautiful day.

Aroma Craft Coffee 20265 Valley Boulevard, Suite Q Walnut, CA 91789 (909) 869-0001 Website Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat-Sun 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing. Small snack at Cream Pan-Tustin. Breakfast at BMC Pho-Hacienda Heights.

August 28, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, this food blog, usually has a story about how a meal or meals occurred. Today, Cathy is writing. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy with meetings and appointments and 'check off the list' stuff.

Saturday morning, leaving the driveway at 5 a.m., heading North. After about an hour, getting to the parking lot and stepping inside Cream Pan,

for the first time this year. It's mostly the same,

other than the slight (10¢) price increase for the strawberry croissant… …and the new, secondary check out area. Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Website
We purchased a ham and cheese croissant ($2.60) and a cheese crisp ($2.50) and jumped back on the freeway, heading to Irwindale and the new location of Phoenix Decorating Company, arriving before 7 a.m.. We passed the new Construction/Decorating 'barn' and saw some of the floats which were tested last month.

We noticed only three floats were lined up for testing this morning. "Story Time", the entry from the City of Alhambra features a bookworm reading the book 'Tales from the Alhambra', ladybugs flying, zinnias, leaves and lily of the valley.

The openings in the above photo are where the 'observer' and the 'driver' will be seated when the float is driving down Colorado Boulevard on January 1.

The colors are painted on the floats as a marking for the decorators and also in case of weather (in the event of rain or wind, the float might lose some of its natural decorations and people on the parade route will still see color).

The road test is for both mechanics and maneuverability of the float. Each float has at least three tests, the final test that everyone can get off of and out of the float in 45 seconds or less.
The Lions Club International entry to the parade, "Preserving Our Environment" will have a water feature- flowing around the rotating water wheel. The colors have not been marked yet.The third float tested on Saturday was this one from Trader Joe's- interesting in that there is a long hitch on both the front and the rear, which makes this a part of a multi-piece float.

Now you've seen floats in three stages of testing!

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706 Website

Since this float builder location and part of Los Angeles County is 'new' to us, The Mister and I began to drive South and explore, looking for breakfast places as well as possible places to eat after we decorate floats in December.
Noticing this at the corner of Gale Avenue and Hacienda Boulevard,we stopped.

So much is offered here, but the banh mi menu (to the far right, just behind the cash register) caught my eye. I'm always on the lookout for a good banh mi (nothing in San Diego satisfies me any more since the fire of August 4, 2015, destroying the now almost reopened K Sandwiches). We were very pleasantly surprised. BMC has a 'buy two, get one' deal, so all three sandwiches cost a total of $7.50. We chose the #2, #4 and #6-BBQ pork, shredded chicken and egg. Each was prepared on wonderful, fresh, crispy crusted light bread, a spread of mayonnaise and topped with pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro and fresh slices of jalapeño. We were impressed with the char grilled flavor of the (plentiful amount of) pork and flavorful shredded chicken…oh but the egg… Crispy whites, solid yolks and just a perfect breakfast sandwich.

We will be returning here at some point to try out other menu items.

BMC Pho 1104 S. Hacienda Boulevard Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (626)330-3765 Open daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test, Breakfast at Penny’s Family Restaurant (West Covina), Snack at Kolache Factory (Tustin)

August 1, 2017 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! a blog about food, and events leading up to acquiring said food. Cathy is writing today; Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are staying away from warm things (like computers and the outdoors).

Yes, it is that time of year again. Posts about Rose parade float road tests, float decorating and the Showcase of floats will be on the blog about once a month until January of next year. The related food/meal posts, will be changing quite a bit. The Phoenix Decorating Company, which constructs the floats where The Mister and I volunteer to decorate in December, has moved its barn about 20 miles East of Pasadena, to Irwindale. The drive there from here is a bit quicker, but we still left at 5 on Saturday morning, to see the floats lined up at 7 for their mechanical and maneuverability testing.

The Theme of the 2018 Rose Parade is "Making A Difference" and each float entry has its own interpretation of those words. Here are some previews of floats that were tested. We will get to the food in a moment.

The Shriners Hospitals for Children 2018 Parade float, "Caring for Kids Around the World", depicts their mascot, Fezzy Bear, in a space suit surrounded by planets and satellites.

Kiwanis International has a tiger driving a race car on its "Racing to Serve Children" titled float.

"Planting the Seeds of Service" is the theme of the Rotary International 2018 Rose Parade float entry.

The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs float, "Sacrifice To Serve" has another patriotic float entered in the Rose Parade, the title is in line with the 'Making a Difference' Theme. Western Asset is going to have at least a whale and turtle on their 2018 float entry.
The Lutheran Hour Ministries 68th entry into the parade is titled "Bringing Christ to the Nations".

There were two other floats (Armenian and Lions) which were in the 'rebar' stage of assembly which were also tested that morning.

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706

Now, on to the food section of this post.

The first stop of the day (at about 6:05 a.m.) was at the Red Hill exit, to get to the Kolache Factory, mentioned in this post
We enjoyed the ham, egg and cheese stuffed dough ($3.19) and the simple, wonderful bacon and cheese stuffed treat ($2.26). The modern version of an Eastern European pastry roll was enough to keep us satisfied before arriving in Irwindale.

Kolache Factory 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 730-2253 Website

When we left Irwindale, we took side roads South, looking for a place to get breakfast and also scoping out possibilities for dinner after we decorate floats in December… We saw a variety of Mexican restaurants and taco shops, several 'Diner Type' places and then somehow got to this "HK2" mall. Kirk wrote about visits there 12 years ago. (Krua Thai is still there).

Because we were here before 9 a.m., only workers were showing up for early morning openings of the shops (I counted at least 20 restaurants, of so many ethnic varieties-Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Mexican and…the only one that was open when we were there- the American place, Penny's.

Signage, Specials, Services offered, Penny's has it all, especially good food.

The weekday breakfast specials are 40¢ more on weekends. I went with a "Mini Breakfast" ($6.95 plus 40¢), two eggs (over easy-perfectly cooked) 2 sausage (or bacon) and home fries (also rye toast). This was great, really good; I love those sliced fried potatoes. The sausage was a good quality.
The Mister chose the corned beef hash and eggs plate ($8.59). Very flavorful corned beef, with diced potato and crispy grill top fried. Those perfect over easy eggs and more of those delightful home fries.
He chose a biscuit and gravy as the side. Great gravy, a really nice baking powder biscuit.
Now that we (sort of) know this mall is here, we will be back a bit later in the morning to try some of the other restaurants when they are open.

Penny's Family Restaurant 969 S. Glendora Avenue West Covina, CA 91790 Open 7-2, daily

I hope your week is good so far!

2017 San Diego County Fair “Where the West is Fun” Part Two: it’s open!

June 15, 2017 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Usually, we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) write about the event surrounding the consumption of the food food…Cathy has a big event and quite a bit of food for today's post.

Link to Part One

I wrote about the 2017 San Diego County Fair before it opened. The Mister and I have been here two times already and are slowly eating our way through the unusual as well as more common Fair foods, all while enjoying the thousands of other activities, displays of judged entries, contests and shows.There was an enormous sand castle being built during the first week of the Fair.
It's just to the left of the entrance, at the front of the Paul Ecke Garden Show area, which has displays in the theme of the Fair.
There are also several areas in this shaded outdoor area of the Fair, serving some 'fancier' food choices along with adult beverages.
The Theme Exhibit (to the right of the entrance) has live entertainment, facades for photo opportunities and tons of information about the expansion of our United States West of the Mississippi (including this nice display about the Pony Express-reminding me of a stop on our summer road trip last year (bottom photos of this post). The Family Funville area (at the center of the racetrack) has the Fiesta Village as well as
child size rides and food booths which offer some kid friendly food choices. There are so many more things going on in this area, including the Creative Youth exhibit as well as the Farm area. The Farm is growing rapidly with additional seedlings brought by elementary school children visiting the Fairgrounds as an end of year school trip; quite an education about the how and where food originates, as well as other farming knowledge about our pollinators (bees and butterflies) and hydroponics in this area.

Back in the Midway area are the Home and Hobby

With displays of crafts, collections, preserved foods and baking winners as well as being able to watch some crafts being created. The Home and Hobby area is where One Day Contests are held. You get into the Fair for free if you enter!

The Mister and I will be back at least two more times this year. Some things have been disappointing. It was promoted at the Pre-opening that the Bacon A-Fair would be selling bacon wrapped cactus, but they don't have it on the menu.We walked over to Chicken Charlie's, to order the

pineapple malasadas, but were told they were not being made.

We went to find what we knew:

The 17 Hands, just to the East of Plaza de Mexico (across from Woodworking and Gemstones) is still serving a simple menu, in a covered, cool room with plenty of seating.

Then we walked over to the Chuckwagon, checking out the menu first.
I tend to read from the bottom of a menu. The bottom right item caught my eye ( mentioned in my 2016 County Fair postscript post); I really like apples. Another 'Fair time' snack is the fresh corn. This year, I decided to be different, went to the Kids Zone infield and ordered a cup instead of an ear of corn at the Fiesta Village. Topped with butter and Cotija cheese, I also added lime; this was a very large portion; more than an ear's worth of corn.
The Mister had noticed the "Fish Fry Medley" as a new menu item at the Reno's Fish and Chips stand on the Midway and ordered it. Each item is fried separately and has a unique breading. Cod (a large, tender piece), octopus (one piece, barely worth mentioning; I hope the 'octopus on a stick' is a larger portion), clams (teensy, tiny and either were fried in bad oil or had freezer burn; an off flavor), shrimp (very small but flavorful) and squid rings over a massive amount of fried potatoes. That was it for my fried food for the week!

Back to Roxy's, a local favorite for a falafel burger (with added avocado). It comes with a large salad and just tastes good. Always a choice (last year we tried the eggplant parmesan sandwich and it was great, as is the artichoke sandwich).
A visit to the San Diego County Fair is not complete until we have a fresh made cream puff with a cup of coffee (with real half and half).

Who else has been to the Fair this year? Soo! Maggie! cc/Pink Candles Part One- the sights! cc-Part Two-the food!

2017 San Diego County Fair Website Open until July 4. Closed Mondays except July 3 and first three Tuesdays

In addition to the thumbnails of menus above, I am attaching these thumbnails to show some planned places and foods we will try during the rest of the Fair.