Festivals & Events – Page 9

2015 Rose Parade float decorating and a lunch at Brodard Restaurant

December 21, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog of food, events, events with food and other reasons to share what we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) eat. Today Cathy is writing about an event and also a meal, which did not occur on the same day…

Last Saturday, The Mister and I once again volunteered for "dry decorating" some of the floats which will participate in the 126th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. A variety of materials are used…
Covering every exposed part of every float with organic material is achieved with various glues… Really, the day is more "Detail Decorating"…

Peas, lentils, beans, poppy seeds as well as bark, pulverized dried flour petals and cinnamon are the majority of materials used on these decorating days-December Saturdays before Christmas Day.

Long day, with much accomplished by about 450 volunteers and yet so much more to do. Intensive decorating with live flowers begins December 26 and goes through until the morning of December 31, just before judging.

Of course this blog is about food, but this day was not very interesting… Stopping at Cream Pan in Tustin before 7 a.m., for some karaage, an orange cream roll, a cheese crisp and, of course, a ham and cheese croissant. Bringing our own lunch this time, we ate on the hood of the car… Getting ready for the drive home, we heard traffic reports on a major accident on the 210, another one on the 5, two on the 101 and others on the 57, 71, 91 and 15, so we tried to avoid it all and ended up getting home in about four hours after having not stopped for dinner, made grilled cheese sandwiches at home and slept deeply.

So, to have some sort of interesting food for this post, The Mister and I drove North during the week…stopping for a late breakfast/early lunch in Garden Grove at Brodard. When you walk in, there is an area to order 'To Go' items and snacks…
Along the side of this ordering area, you can see the ladies making the famous nem nuong…

Which we, of course, ordered after being seated in the already crowded restaurant…

"Mixed order" of Nem and Chao Tom- Two pork paste and two shrimp paste ($8) Spring rolls were brought out almost immediately.What makes these Spring rolls special is, that in addition to the fresh lettuce, cucumber, carrot, daikon, cilantro and mint wrapped tightly in rice paper, there is a folded piece of crispy fried egg roll skin in the center of each fresh roll. The 'house special sauce', served warm (I believe it is made with pork and pork broth and maybe some honey) also make these Spring rolls unique.

Another item ordered was the simple and tasty Gou du du bo kho, Gan Chay (papaya salad, $6). Made with both beef jerky and smoked pork liver, the version here is a favorite. The two sauces, one a spicy vinaigrette and the other more soy based, are served on the side and mixed to our preference when we eat the salad…

Again, we try a 'new to us' item at most restaurants and this time it was… Banh Hoi Chao Tom (angel hair vermicelli sheets topped with grilled shrimp paste and served with greens and a lime chili fish sauce) ($8.95)
This was a delightful surprise! The dry, delicate noodles were just the thing to go with the various wrappings and good amount of grilled shrimp paste. We could have ordered this with whole shrimp, BBQ pork, grilled beef or nem nuong, or (as we will do next time) order the Banh Hoi Brodard- the toppings are grilled chicken, BBQ pork, grilled whole shrimp, grilled shrimp paste, pork sausage and egg roll, for only $2 more.

Brodard Restaurant 9892 Westminster Ave Garden Grove, CA 92844 8 a.m.-9 pm. daily Closed on Tuesdays

2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests: #1 Test #2 Test #3 Test #4 Test #5 Test #6 Road Test 7

2015 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Test #6-plus. Breakfast at Lucky Boy(Pasadena), Lunch at Tom’s Farms (Corona)

November 17, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! This food blog has been around a while now and most posts are written by Kirk, who is taking a bit of a rest today. Ed (from Yuma) also shares food-based musings here and he is also resting. Cathy is all rested up and so she is writing this post.

Two weekends ago, yet another safety and maneuverability road test of 2015 Tournament of Roses rose parade floats occurred at Phoenix Decorating Company. Only three floats were being tested that day.The Princess Cruise Line float is now completely colored in and those sort of 'tiki' faces (one on each side of the ship) will have small 'waterfalls' within.This super long float (see the viewer way in the back, above the float (second photo up) as well as the one in the front looking out (above photo)?) It's by Honda and the first one you will see after the Banner float on January 1, 2015.You can see the seated Spotter and Driver in the United Sikh Mission float, above.

Here's the 'plus' part: my brother was in town on business last week and I asked him to delay his flight departure so he could see the float barn and a bit of Pasadena.
Welders were assembling rebar, floats were being taped off for coloring and foam additions and we got to see a bit more of the real work on the float building process. Then we all went for breakfast. Yes, a simple breakfast it was… The simple egg sandwich (now $3.50) on rye toast… Along with the slightly more complicated egg sandwich with bacon ($5.55) and cheese (40¢) on wheat. There was a *lot* of bacon on that sandwich; enough to share.

Lucky Boy 640 Arroyo Parkway Pasadena 91105 (626)793-0120 website

We drove and saw things around town (Rose Bowl Stadium, the street markings for the float drivers to follow along the entire parade route, bleachers being set up for the parade (those need to be tested for safety before January 1 too) and the Farmers Market, then started the drive back toward San Diego.
Taking the long way, along Route 66. Then we got to the 15 and headed South, stopping at the ever curious signage for Tom's Farms. (which I wrote about for 2009 Burger Week).
Coincidentally, we ordered similarly to that 2009 post, and inflation has barely batted an eyelash here. The 1/3 lb Tom's Burger is now $3.99 (it was $3.95) and the 1/3 lb chili size is now $5.99 (it was $4.95) The whole onion lightly breaded perfectly fried onion rings are $3.99 ($3.69 back then). The food was as good and fresh as ever (the buns are made here; vegetables same as the ones sold here and the meat was cooked to a nice medium-rare) and the small vacation was fun.

Tom's Burgers 23900 Temescal Canyon Road Corona 92883 (951)277-4103 website

2015 Rose Parade Road Test #5. Breakfast at Cupid’s Burgers and Tacos (Corona)

October 28, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! a food blog, sometimes with photos and stories about how the food was attained. Kirk is taking a short break as is Ed(from Yuma). Cathy is writing today.

Yes, it's getting close to that time of the year and floats for the 126th Rose Parade are still being built and going through testing and evaluations of maneuverability and safety. It's a nice drive North; we leave home at 5 a.m. to get to Pasadena by 7 a.m. and walk a block and over the Metro tracks to see things like this-The Western Asset Management float entry "The Power of Imagination" was tested in its mostly screened over form, but you can see the rebar outline. It's going to be beautiful- look at the float renditions here. (The last drawing is this float).The 2015 Farmers Insurance Group entry, "Dream Big: World of Possibility" also had it's first road test on Saturday and there is going to be a lot going on this float, including a giant screen resembling a laptop computer on the float (the rendition is also on the above link, 5th photo from the top).When I posted the sixth photo on this post last month, a different angle than the one above, I mentioned it was the Princess Cruise Lines entry, "50 years of Inspiring Travel", and that the crew of The Love Boat television show (which ran from 1977-1987) will be riding the float. {Reading the link, I never realized how each episode had three crossover stories and that each show had a somber/moral storyline as part of the script.}The float is now screened over and details on both sides are clear.
What made this past Saturday was more interesting in that the float was 'Christened' by the Vice President of Public Relations for Princess Cruises, Julie Benson, just before its road test. (The link to the article has better photos of the event. This was a new experience for floats). Long story short, after viewing the floats, we wanted to get back to San Diego ASAP to watch college football and started driving back- East on the 210, to the 57, to the 71 to the 91 and eventually to the 15…we just took an exit at the time we agreed we were hungry. It was the City of Corona. Seeing the above signage, you just know we had to stop. Turns out Cupid's has been in this location for decades, underwent new management a few years ago, when they remodeled a bit, extending the footprint but kept the menu and original signage the same.
That front area with all the tables and booths was added on. The ordering counter looks like it was the original, with the kitchen between the counter and the take out window. We ordered, paid and our food was brought to the table. Huevos Rancheros plate ($5.29) came with steaming hot tortillas and the eggs were perfect, as were the beans and rice (which tasted like it was cooked in a broth). The ranchero sauce was *wonderful*, filled with chunky vegetables, notably fresh strips of chile as well as tomato and onion and so very flavorful. A great choice. While looking at the menu on the wall, there was a whiteboard of specials next to the cash register- and the 'Breakfast scramble" with your choice of meat (we chose sausage) was $4.99. Easily this had three eggs, at least three and probably four sausage links chopped up and was smothered in a really great sausage gravy. All of that was on top of freshly made crispy fries, which turned out to be such a tasty combination of flavor and texture.

I hope we randomly take this exit again.

Cupids Burgers and Tacos 623 E. 6th Street Corona, CA 92879 (951) 737-1772 Mon-Sat 6 am-10 pm, Sun 7 am-10 pm

2015 Rose Parade float road test #4 and breakfast at Connal’s Burgers, Salads and Subs (Pasadena)

September 22, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for dropping by the mmm-yoso!!! food blog. It's Cathy writing today's post. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy with other things.

An overcast morning in September. How wonderful it was to wake up at 4 a.m. with a chilly temperature of 63 and for it to remain that way for the two hour drive (beginning at 5 a.m.) North. Mechanical and maneuverabilty testing on four more floats that will participate in the 126th Tournament of Roses parade was happening at Phoenix Decorating Company in Pasadena.The Trader Joe's four part entry was the most interesting. The front piece (wheelbarrow with a pumpkin and watering can) is separately driven by a Honda motorcycle and the other attached pieces, depicting a raised bed garden pulling a watermelon and vine with a blossom and blossoming gourd, with the title of "Bedtime Stories", in synchronicity with the parade theme of "Inspiring Stories" is detailed, has spinning, rocking and water spraying parts and will certainly win some sort of trophy for creativity.The details of the City of Los Angeles float, "What's your L.A. Story?" are emerging."Made Possible by Hope" is the City of Hope entry. The Princess Cruises float, still in its rebar phase looks like a cruise ship depicting sights around the world. Titled "50 years of Inspiring Travel", it will be interesting to see the finished design. The original crew of the TV show "The Love Boat" will be riding on this float!

After that bit of fun, we were again hungry (we, of course had stopped at Cream Pan right around 6:15) selecting 'only' a creamy orange brioche and (of course) ham and cheese croissant, to eat in the car with a Starbucks coffee…
One thing The Mister and I are known for is not making plans. We left the road testing and started zig-zagging the streets, heading more or less North and East. Soon, we saw the above signage (there is a complete arrow, which is really great, classic signage that you can see on any of the links to the restaurant) and decided to stop.There is an ordering window at the street as well as a small inside seating area where you can also order. We saw many people from the neighborhood walking in to pick up phoned in orders and a few people driving and picking up meals.You can see an upside down outline of the arrow on the rug in the below photo. It turns out Connal's has been here since 1958…yet we had never heard of it. It is on Washington Street which has many old classic architecture buildings, including both Longfellow and Daniel Webster Elementary Schools.(I can imagine the rivalry).Since I seem to order the same breakfast 90% of the time, things would be no different here. An egg sandwich with bacon on rye toast ($4.59) was my (wonderful, tasty, filling) choice. Because this was one of The Mister's 'birthday days' when he gets to choose the place as well as the food, (we have birthdays seven days apart, which are really eight days of celebrating) (go ahead, use your fingers- if His birthday was Thursday, then mine would be the following Thursday – that means eight days we have to celebrate, but there are only seven dates using math) He ordered the rib eye steak and eggs breakfast ($7.49). The seasoned strip steak was tender and grilled; three eggs over easy; hash browns; sourdough toast…each prepared perfectly and remiinded us of Saturdays in college, when we'd splurge on steak and three egg omelets for breakfast at the counter at a long gone greasy spoon. Good times.

Connal's Sandwiches 1505 East Washington Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-5018 Website (the menu website links have old prices, the wall prices in the photo above are 'to go' prices, it's about 50¢ less per item when you eat in).

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 2014 San Diego County Fair-Part Two-sights, foods and fun!

July 3, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Sometimes there are situations surrounding the acquisition of food. Today's post is about one of those times. Cathy is writing.

The 2014 San Diego County Fair opened on June 7. It will close this Sunday, July 6. Plan to go over there soon to join in the festivities of this "Fab Fair". I'm going to mostly add photos and just a few explanations at the end. The fifth largest County Fair in the USA is overwhelming with things to see, do and eat.

As I said, overwhelming. The Mister and I have been here multiple times, met friends, gone with family and tried out the various food items. There have been countless competition entries in so many categories within Home & Hobby, Design in Wood, Gems, Minerals & Jewelry, Photography, Fine Art and all of their subcategories. There have been Daily Contests, 4H competitions (and those animals will be auctioned on July 5), instructional presentations, pig races, turkey stampede, Garden Show, concerts, the New Farm at Family Funville near the Kid's Zone. You've missed the Toast of the Coast Wine Festival, San Diego International Beer Festival and the 10th annual Gospel Festival. There is still a daily Craft Beer/Wine Experience in the Home & Hobby area and on July 5, the Big Bite Bacon Fest will be back.

Some of the photos of food consumed include the fresh made cream puff, pretzel, $2 Tuesday samples, zucchini curls, a Pink's chili dog, Indian fry bread and grilled cauliflower sandwich (a new item and personal favorite of mine; I've had/shared four this year, so far).

There is a free shuttle and parking near the Fairgrounds, if you don't want to pay the $10 fee. It's all listed on the Website. Hope to see you there! You can see fireworks all over the county at 9 p.m. on July 4, but the fireworks seen from the Midway at the Fair are particularly beautiful.Other Blogger perspectives of the 2014 San Diego County Fair Here, Here and Here. Here too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 2014 San Diego County Fair-Part One- Before it opens

June 3, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food: not just purchasing and preparing food, but purchasing and eating prepared food although sometimes we blog just thinking of the possibilities of food. Cathy is posting today because Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are still out preparing and/or purchasing and/or thinking.

It is that time of year again. Saturday June 7 is the opening day of the 2014 San Diego County Fair- with its theme of "The Fab Fair". The largest County Fair in Caliornia and fourth largest in the USA, "our" Fair is a local happening for most of us.

The front gate has a Yellow Submarine theme.

The Midway is being set up. The usual vendors are here.Exhibits are being set up.Preserved Foods (the 'heart' of the Fair) have been judged and put on display.

The other Home and Hobby Competitions have also been judged and set up for display.

Chicken Charlie's will be opening a Brick and Mortar store in San Diego later this year, ostensibly to test new food items for the 2015 Fair season (and beyond) For now, the new items are listed in the signage above (fried chicken skins and that delightful looking triple decker cheesburger with a Krispy Kreme donut bun).

The Bacon-A-Fair booth will be selling a churro, injected with 1/2 shot of Jack Daniels, wrapped in bacon, then grilled, rolled in sugar and served with maple syrup and whipped cream.

The Grant Burger booth will be selling two new items: the bacon jam burger (bacon burger with an onion-garlic-maple syrup jam) and a chile relleño-chorizo-avocado topped burger on a pretzel roll (which will be conveniently cut into four pieces so you can share).

Other new Fair Foods can be found via this link. Scroll down. The cauliflower sandwich at Grinders in Plaza de Mexico sounds very interesting.

The Exit gate.

See you at the Fair!

Check the website for discounts and details (scroll down; there is free parking).

The 2014 San Diego County Fair Website June 7-July 6, closed Mondays.

COMC: A Chef’s salute to Tommy Gomes

February 28, 2014 mmm-yoso Festivals & Events

Yep, here's another one of those Clearing Out the Memory Card posts…..

I'm not one to go to these events, too many media types, PR folks, and the like, make me rather uncomfortable. Yet, a couple of weeks ago, Candice told me about an event at the Handlery, a Chef's Salute to Tommy Gomes, the face and official grumpy voice of Catalina Offshore. Just from a personal standpoint, I know we've been eating better at home because of what Tommy orders me to get Tommy's recommendations. I remember one of my first regular visits, I'd been going off and on for years, but in what has become a ritual, there I was on a Saturday morning….walking up to the fish display; this was before Bay Park Fish gave up selling fresh seafood and moved the cold case to Catalina. Walking to check out the fish I hear a gruff voice behind me:

"Hey, did you read the sign out front"
"Umm, no….."
I saw a slight smile form on the mustachioed old salt bearing the baseball cap
"So, what are buying today"
"Whatever you tell me too……."

The rest, as they say, is history…so seventy-five bucks was a small price to pay to express my thanks for making me a better home cook.

There were food and drink tables set-up in one of the ballrooms. You knew this was important cause….man, Tommy shaved off his mustache! Good god!

As for the food, here's my top three:

Hans Carvin….from Carnitas' Snack Shack called this "pork wings", basically a perfectly textured (not overly mushy, not too chewy) pork rib, with a glaze that should be illegal. The quick "kimchi'd" vegetables added the acid and contrast.

Tommy Fraioli and the team from Beaumont's had a nice pork cheek, with what I believe was a carrot foam and pea puree. The pork was a bit tougher than I like, but there was something in here that really ramped up the flavor.

Small Bar's Crab Cake with Yuzu Gelee could have really been a winner, but it was placed on a cracker that didn't stand up real well and had a taste like it was on the stale side. loved the combination of flavors, though…..

The rest……