Fine Dining – Page 2

Road Trip – Array 36 (Temple City)

July 18, 2024 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Fine Dining, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Travel

Way back in March, the Missus had requested a specific road trip. We'd be taking our time to our destination. We first stayed in Carlsbad and had a fine dinner at Jeune et Jolie, after our morning coffee and some breakfast we headed to the SGV. As usual, we stayed the night at the Courtyard at Monterey Park and had made reservations for a restaurant in Temple City. I know what you're thinking, "sigh, is Kirk going to do yet another post on Bistro Na's?" Well FOYs, I'll give you a break from that for now, ok? I had read about a restaurant that opened in Temple City in October of last year. The place had Shanghainese influenced dishes along with an $98 Roast Duck dish carved tableside, which had to be ordered ahead of time. I'd read that the renovation of the restaurant, named Array 36 cost over 3 million dollars, with the goal of setting a new level of fine dining for Chinese cuisine in Los Angeles. So, of course we had to try things out.

I made reservations for 5pm, right when the place opened.

As we entered, the haunting moodiness of the restaurant engulfed us.

There's a huge hologram of a whale projected on the wall. It's quite a trippy scene.

We looked over the menu and placed our order. Soon enough, a serving of Kai Wei Cai, those little before meal snacks that are supposed to "open up the stomach" arrived.

The beans were quite nice; but it was the pungent-sour-mildly spicy laba garlic that we enjoyed. This was a great start to the meal.

Of course we needed to try the duck. There as no way we'd be able to finish a whole duck, so no "flaming fowl", the tableside torched and carved duck. No we went with the half roast duck ($68).

Which came with all the standard accessories. The fat had been rendered nicely, but the skin was not as crisp and delicate as we like. The flavor was quite mild and the meat tough and dry.

The dan bing, those "pancakes" one enrobes the duck and accoutrements with were large, thicker then we like and on the chewy side for our taste.

There's a version of Dragon Well Shrimp on the menu, something we really love. We still talk about the wonderful version we had all those years ago at Jiangnan Restaurant in Beijing. It's called Stir Fried River Shrimp on the English menu. We got a small order which was $58.

Man, this was bad. The shrimp was overcooked and tough, was too salty, and lacked depth of flavor.

We also ordered the House Special Smoked Plank Pork ($28).

The pork was on the chewier side of the scale, a bit too sweet for our taste, but heck, this was Shangainese influenced so that makes sense. Mild smokiness, decent pork tones. Not bad.

The last dish would prove to be a winnah! The Beef Fried Rice with Black Truffle ($22).

This was quite possibly the best fried rice I'd had in a while. While there was just a wisp of black truffle flavor; the rice was perfectly cooked and coated, the seasoning a nice balance of salt and savory.

At least the meal ended on a high note. The service as excellent, the interior a world of it's own. But in the end, it's about the food, and sorry to say, in spite of watching that hologram whale swimming on the wall across us, I don't think the dinner was worth the $200 price tag.

Array 36
5449 Rosemead Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Taipei – Mountain and Sea House Restaurant

April 10, 2024 mmm-yoso Beer, Fine Dining, Memorable Meals, Taipei, Taiwan, Taiwanese Food and Restaurants, Travel

While planning our trip to Taiwan, I came across a Michelin listing for a place called Mountain & Sea House, which had one Michelin Star. But what really got my attention was the restaurant served Taiwanese dishes that harkened back to the 1930's. In addition, the restaurant sourced their ingredients from their own farm, their swine from a ranch that raises indigenous breeds and so forth. Honestly, I could've spent the entire trip eating Lu Rou Fan (and of course pork chops), but that wouldn't be any fan fun, would it? A big plus is that Mountain & Sea House did online reservations, which I took advantage of.

The walk from our hotel was about 25 minutes where we ended up on Ren'ai Road and a lovely looking structure. The really knowledgeable staff told the Missus that the building is in the style of the Japanese Meiji Taisho period, which coincides with the time period of Japanese rule in the country and what is considered the heyday of Taiwanese banquet cuisine by many.

01 Mountain Sea House

The interior is austere yet classy.

Of course, it was only the Missus and I, so ordering huge banquet dishes was not a possibility, but there is a huge "family menu" for 8 people that needs to be ordered in advance; a bunch of set menus, whole suckling pig, chicken cooked in pork stomach, and a bevy of seafood offerings as well.

We just ordered a couple of interesting items off the a la carte menu.

What was interesting is the the restaurant had it's own beer, barrel aged in wine barrels.

This had some nice tart-fruitiness to it; but wasn't as strong as say, a Belgian (of which I've had a few).

The Missus started with a Rose from Weightstone and winery in Taichung.

Which She really enjoyed. She would have a glass of white from the same winery, which was exclusive to the restaurant later during the meal.

After our tea service….

Our food started arriving. First up, was the eye catching "White Flowered Mountain Gourd".

The zucchini and carrot laced parcel was filled with a concoction of dried scallops, black pork, and several different type of mushrooms. It was a bit milder in flavor than we had anticipated, but man, the velvety chicken stock, seasoned perfectly, studded with sweet-earthy mushrooms was fantastic.

Next up were the Oyster Fritters.

It was the two types of greens; bitter-vegetal-crunchy that made this dish. The oysters and pork were quite mild in flavor and the fritter batter not as crisp as we would like.

My favorite dish of the evening was the Three Cup Pig Tail Stew. What seems like a bajillion years ago, I had my first taste of Taiwanese food in a restaurant in the SGV. One of the dishes was Three Cup Chicken. It was love at first bite! It was strange for us to not come across that dish in restaurants we visited in Taiwan? Regardless, this was amazing.

At first glance, the pork looked really dark, but it wasn't overly salty, loved the whole cloves of sweet-pungent garlic, a hint of ginger wafted through the air. The earthy mushrooms added another "meaty" dimension to the meal. The pig tail was swiny, the skin soft, the pieces of cartilage perfect for gnawing. The fragrant basil added the necessary herbaceous-anise tones to the dish.

The "Maqaw" Roast Pork was fine if a bit underwhelming.

Love the tender – porkiness; but the pork seemed to have not been marinated long enough for our taste.

I had our wonderful, friendly Server order me a glass of local Whiskey, he told me it was Lychee Flavored. It was quite nice.

This was a fun meal. We enjoyed the service and watching the families, many multi-generational enjoying their meals here. While we could have easily stuck with smaller restaurants, night markets, and street food; I'm glad we made time for places like this!

Mountain and Sea House Restaurant
No. 94, Section 2, Ren'ai Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Road Trip – Sazon (Santa Fe, NM)

March 7, 2024 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Latin American Cuisine, Memorable Meals, Mexican Restaurants, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

One of the main reasons we headed back to Santa Fe for another road trip was to dine at Sazon. We had really wanted to have dinner at Sazon during our last stay (Sept 2022), but the Chef, Fernando Olea who hails from CDMX had recently won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest and reservations were impossible to come by. So, instead we ended having a nice meal at Geronimo. This time, I managed to get reservations for an early dinner. The restaurant located in one of those classic Santa Fe Adobes one block from our hotel.

The place was already buzzing when we were seated. The dining area is divided in different rooms, each adorned with colorful artwork.

The service was professional, but warm and not stuffy. There is a tasting menu available during two specific seatings, but we just wanted to try items we saw on the regular menu.

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The Missus started with some Champagne, I was looking forward to our upcoming (at that time) trip to Tequila in the upcoming month and had a Tres Generaciones Anejo. We were also provided with a Mole sampler, some of which was too sweet for the Missus, so we were glad to have just gone with ordering off the menu. You'll also soon see why…..

As things started with the Tuetano – Bone Marrow. You know how much I like bone marrow, right?

The salsa rojo on the bone marrow had a nice kick and really blended well with the buttery richness of the marrow. It went so well with the maizey tortillas. This was a nice start.

Next up; the Higado de Ganzo – Foie Gras with a raspberry-coconut sauce on crostini.

The sweetness of the sauces and the resiny flavor of the pine nuts overwhelmed the small slices of foie gras in this dish. It was just a bit too much stuff, which made it a "foie faux" to us.

Next up were these.

The Xochimilco – Huitlacoche, with queso fresco was so delici-yoso.

Oh my, the earthy-mushroomy-sweet huitlacoche paired so well with the slightly milky queso fresco, which added a melty-buttery texture. The corn tortillas added heft and the salsa a bit of heat, with a mild sweetness.

We also enjoyed the Oaxaquenos – Chapulines, which was served over mashed avocado.

Just by themselves, the light and crunchy grasshoppers had a really nice savory-grassy-mild spice that was so nice. Our Server told us that it had been infused with garlic and olive oil and chili de arbol. The corn tortilla was a perfect match as was the avocado.

There was one last dish I really wanted to try; the Cholula, which is the Chef's take on the Chile en Nogada. this was served in a tower format, rather than the usual stuffed chile poblano.

Well, this had a lot going on; the meat here was a combination of ground lamb, pork, and beef; which was seriously overshadowed by a very tasty, not overly sweet and creamy-rich walnut sauce. The balsamic vinegar sauce added another level of sweet-acidity, with a touch of heat from jalapenos. We'd have enjoyed more of the bitter-sweetness provided by the pomegranate seeds. The poblanos added a nice mild green bell pepper flavor to things. That walnut sauce is what made the dish in our opinion.

Overall, this was a memorable meal, the service was excellent, the dishes interesting with such a range of flavors! I'm glad we were able to finally have dinner here!

Sazón
221 Shelby St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

After dinner, we took a nice stroll. This is the Bell Tower Bar, where we had drinks earlier in the day.

We passed those places we visited on our last trip here.

The Loretto Chapel.

The San Miguel Chapel.

Santa Fe Plaza.

And all the enjoyable public art.

It made for a very relaxing time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Valle (Oceanside)

February 27, 2024 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Latin American Cuisine, Mexican Restaurants, Staycation

After our wonderful dinner at Jeune et Jolie we were looking forward to our meal the next evening in Oceanside at the Michelin starred Valle restaurant. The samples of the tasting menu we'd seen really enticed us, and the Missus really wanted to sample the wines of the Valle de Guadalupe. So, after heading to Garden Grove to have Lao food for lunch, we headed back to Oceanside and checked in at the Springhill Suites. Man, I hadn't been in this area for ages and it had changed a lot.

It was much more developed and commercial. We actually enjoyed staying in Carlsbad a lot more. Though, we did have a wonderful time at Frankie's, cause you know why!

We strolled down the Oceanside Pier and then walked on over to the location of Valle. It was quite a modern setting, it's all tasting menu here, we got the Tierra Y Mar (Land and Sea) which was $180 per person and shared a single wine pairing which was $150. The staff was friendly and professional, though not as knowledgeable and enthusiastic as the folks at JeJ.

Valle 01

Though the one cocktail that was recommended was outstanding; the "Maggie" ($20). Now, the Missus isn't a big fan of Margaritas, but She loved this.

Valle 02

It has so clean, so crisp, and yet had that hint of agave. I asked about this cocktail and was told it was made with Cristalino, which folks really disparaged when we visited Tequila and I can understand why. And yet, this was so good, it used the Milk punch method to clarify the components of the drink. It was lovely; we had two…. We got a single pairing with our meal, which was excellent.

Things started with the Botanas.

Valle 03

We loved the chicharron foam/broth, it was so porky, light, and comforting.

Valle 04

The little mini fish "tacos" were also quite tasty; nice maize flavor.

Valle 05

Then things really started out with the Charred Onion Tarte with Kaluga Hybrid Caviar.

Valle 06

As with many of the dishes, quite an interesting presentation…charred black. Good sweet-almost caramelized onion tones. The caviar seemed strangely muted as we expected more of salty-savory counterpoint. Great texture though.

The eye catching Betabel (beet) was next. It was interesting that both JeJ and Valle had beet dishes as components of the meal.

Valle 07

This dish featured Humboldt Fog, which, since you know how we enjoy cheese excited us. But the dish was overwhelmingly sweet, though we loved the anise-mint flavor of the shiso, the flavor of rosemary kind of overpowered things.

Next up was the Trucha, Nopal y Tuna. We love Nopal and this was described as an aguachile.

Valle 08

It lacked a nice citrusy acidity and the trout was really tough in texture.

The one saving grace was the Chardonnay paired with this dish was a favorite of the Missus.

Valle 08b

In fact, I've hunted this down once we returned.

The Chancla con corte de wagyu was good.

Valle 09

If I recall in my really horrible Spanish, "chancla" means slipper. This was an decadent slice of what I consider wagyu "lardo" topping….well who cares really…..

Valle 10

Good lord, the avocado crema….the earthy-maize chancla!!!

In total contrast, the Tetela de Birria was quite mild.

Valle 11

Perhaps it was because we were in Jalisco recently (I'll get those posts done soon!), but even the Missus said, "this doesn't taste like birria, where's the bold flavors!"

I enjoy Pescado Zarandeano, I even make a version at home. This was an interesting version as it featured, a tasty "pico de gallo terrine". Which actually tasted much better than the fish!

Valle 12

Which was dry and fairly bland.

At this point, there was an interesting move, the Missus got the Cornejo Alegre, the poached and roasted rabbit.

Valle 14

I thought the Missus would enjoy this. Remember how hard I worked to find that the Missus enjoyed Mole Segueza in Oaxaca. But for Her it was overly sweet and it seemed that the gamy tones of the rabbit was meant to be muted.

I did order the A5 Drunken Wagyu Strip which was an extra $50….let me tell you, this was amazing, even better than what we had at JeJ!

Valle 15

So beefy, with an amazing texture….that was at first firm, that gave way…..good lord, can I say I tasted the soul of beef? Perfectly cooked and seasoned. For me; this was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.

Valle 16

If I were to return…cause the "Maggie" calls to me; I'd sit at the bar and have a couple of dishes. Still, this was a fun experience, though we enjoyed JeJ much more.

Valle
222 N Pacific St.
Oceanside, CA 92054

And after dinner, well, the Oceanside Pier is right there…..

And if you're of my generation; this is called the "Top Gun House".

In case you want to check it out.

Valle 18

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)

February 5, 2024 mmm-yoso Exploring San Diego, Fine Dining, French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Staycation

Like I had mentioned in my post on Frankie's, we had enjoyed our staycation at the Lafayette so much, that we decided to finally hit up a couple of places we had always meant to visit. We stayed in Carlsbad at the Best Western. I don't think we'll stay there again, it was noisy and dated, though the location right across from Carlsbad State Beach was great. This was of course between two "visits" from the Pineapple Express. Somehow we lucked out and dodged the storms. Though you could tell by the clouds off Carlsbad State Beach that something was amiss.

We enjoyed taking a short stroll in the area before heading off to dinner. This being during the week, things seemed really relaxed and very small town like, which we enjoyed.

This is the Alley Art Wall.

We headed back to the room to change before heading off to dinner; which was just a few blocks away.

Compared to how quiet the rest of the town seemed Jeune et Jolie was very busy. We got a small table in the middle of the dining room.

Jeune et Jolie 01

As crazy busy as JeJ was, the service was top notch. Our main Server; Joe was amazing! Plus, he had lived in Japan, and we even managed to have a chat with him. We were asked if we were right or left handed for the place settings, all dishes were explained well. Watching the kitchen work was incredible as well.

The menu is four courses at $115 per person. We (I) got the Wagyu which was a $55 supplement. We also got one pairing, which the Missus said should be based on the dishes I ordered. We also started with a Champagne for the Missus and since I was feeling "French-Diegan" I got a Kir Royale.

Jeune et Jolie 02

Things started with a nice Amuse Bouche; eggplant puree in a semolina shell.

Jeune et Jolie 03

Crisp exterior, which cracked away to a creamy-earthy-slightly sweet filling. This was a nice start.

Of course I had to get the Veal Tartare which was fabulous.

Jeune et Jolie 04

The veal was chopped exactly the way I like it; it was very tender. There were Asian touches in this; wasabi which added a wonderful pungency and really complimented the dish as did the white soy! The radishes added an additional peppery crunch to the dish. This might now be in my top 2 versions of tartare!

The Missus ordered the "Poireau" as Her first course.

Jeune et Jolie 05

Wonderful, almost sweet-oniony leek, with a potato potage hid the Missus's favorite part of the dish; an creamy and delici-yoso sous vide egg yolk. The Missus loves Her eggs; so it was love at first bite! There was some very mild caviar on this, but it was all about the egg yolk for the Missus.

Some brioche arrived as we finished our starters…the Missus wished that it had come earlier.

Jeune et Jolie 06

The Missus's Scallop course was quite good.

Jeune et Jolie 07

The scallop was a perfect rare and sweet, the sauce which contained grapes added a nice sweet-acidity to things. The scallop was crowned with the cap of a king trumpet mushroom which added a wonderful, meaty, sweet-earthiness.

Thinking that with all the meat I'd ordered that it would be best to get some veggies, I ordered the "Betterave".

Jeune et Jolie 08

The beets had been I believe dehydrated and had the texture of meat. The bone marrow vinaigrette was rich, but I felt was kind of lost in this dish. I loved the bitter-crunch of the chicory and the nutty-slightly sweet hazelnuts really complimented this dish. The Missus is not a fan of beets, but She even enjoyed this!

The most mundane dish of the evening was the Partridge.

Jeune et Jolie 09

The partridge was nicely cooked and seasoned, the jus was a bit on the acidic side; the morel mushroom stuffed with partridge was a bit dry but tasty. Don't get me wrong, this was a nice dish, but compared to what we'd had so far for dinner…..

And then there was the Wagyu ($55 supplement),which was A5 Miyazaki Ribeye. Good lord, I think I died and went to bovine heaven!

Jeune et Jolie 10

Just the decadent beefiness of the meat was amazing! The texture luxurious. The jus had just the right balance of beefy-acidity to compliment the meat. The lightly fried sweetbreads were creamy and had no off metallic flavors. My goodness!

The Missus got the Lavande; which She enjoyed as it wasn't too sweet and had nice lemony tones from yuzu.

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I got the Automne, which was made with parsnip and was delicious as well.

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Jeune et Jolie 13

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Like I mentioned earlier; we loved the service and the food. We didn't care for the wine pairing much and will work around that next time.

Jeune et Jolie 15

The place was quite loud, so perhaps we'll even return earlier in the week, or perhaps sit outside during a warmer time of the year. And yes, we are definitely returning!

Jeune Et Jolie
2659 State St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
(760) 637-5266
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 5pm – 10pm

Jeune et Jolie 16

Paris – Dinner at Automne

January 26, 2024 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Paris, France, Travel

Our time in Paris was winding down. We had two more evenings left. The Missus had enjoyed dining at a Boullion on the last night of our previous stay, so we thought we'd do that again. So, on the second to the last night, I thought we'd go with a fancier meal. I mentioned having made reservations at the Michelin Star Automne in an earlier post and then having it cancelled. On the bright side, we ended up having dinner at Les Enfants Rouge that evening, which has become a favorite of ours. I did still want to dine at Automne and on this visit I made a reservation for this evening. The restaurant is in the 11th Arrondissement, about a kilometer and a half from our apartment. We had a nice stroll on over. Like many of our preferred fine dining restaurants in Paris, the restaurant was helmed by a Japanese Chef.

We we greeted upon arrival and escorted to a nice quiet corner table. For dinner we selected the 7 course tasting menu and shared a wine tasting.

The pacing was relaxed, very low keyed. Of course things started with the amuse bouche.

Which I recall being delicious, but I got seriously distracted.

By what, you might say. Well, we had one of those wonderful "Paris moments". You know us and pooches. We saw the cutest furry pooch walking down the street. He looked like he was smiling and there was something about he and his owner that caught my eye. I brought out my camera to take a photo and wouldn't you know it. The woman saw me pointing the camera their way. Now, if you would believe those Paris stereotypes, you'd think that we'd be in store for some rudeness. But, like what has happened to us many times before, we had a moment. The woman smiled and waved and brought the pooch over to take their photo.

It was such a sweet moment! When I went and downloaded the photos I realized what had caught my attention. You know that folks say people start looking like their dogs……. What do you think? It's one of those unforgettable moments. The Missus and I talk about this encounter more often than we chat about the Louvre!

Anyway, on with the meal.

First up was a terrine with Smoked Eel and Foie Gras.

I wasn't sure about this dish at first glance; but it was quite good, the rich foie gras paired nicely with the smoked-savory-eel. The balsamic glaze and beets added sweetness to really help balance things out. The radish was slightly pungent which helped to reset the palate between bites.

The Scallops with Osetra Caviar was quite decadent.

I thought the scallops could be seared a bit more, but it was perfect rare, sweet-oceany, the caviar adding an interesting layer of flavor that was almost like intense walnut? The shavings of hazelnut added another layer of earthy-nuttiness to the dish.

The next dish featured, black truffle, wild game bisque, and a salsifis timbale.

The bisque was a bit too much and overpowered the dish. But of course, we could minimize the exposure and enjoy the truffle and salsifis. This also had really earthy and savory pied blue mushrooms.

The line caught sea bass was cooked to perfection.

Crispy skin, moist and flaky, the sauces, broccoli, rapini, and one that seemed like a mild foam with hints of lime all added a different dimension to the dish.

The Roasted Venison was cooked to a perfect doneness for me.

Nice mild gaminess, the one item that was amazing in this dish were the mushrooms. I was told it's called Trompette de la Mort "trumpets of death"! Also known as black chanterelles. My goodness, the sweet-nutty-earthiness was amazing.

The Poached Pear with Cocoa Tuile was not overly sweet.

And all in all, this was a fine meal.

One of many that we've had in Paris over the years!

Automne
11 Rue Richard Lenoir
75011 Paris, France

Big Island – Dinner at Merriman’s and Waimea Town Market (Kamuela/Waimea)

November 19, 2023 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Fine Dining, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Memorable Meals, Travel

During our last trip to the Big Island, we decided to stay the night. As I've mentioned in a previous post from almost 10 years ago, Kamuela holds a special place in my heart. I'm glad the Missus enjoys the laid back, gentrified, farm-village vibe of the town. This time around we decided to stay for the night; something we hadn't done in years. We stayed at the Waimea Country Lodge and enjoyed strolling around town. For dinner, I had made reservations at Merriman's. We'd had dinner there over two decades ago and really didn't enjoy it much. This time, I hoped for better.

We walked on over…..

We arrived a bit earlier than our reservation; but the young man at the host stand told us "no problem" we have a table. We experienced this type of warm and accommodating service during our entire meal. It was such a pleasure dealing with folks who were efficient and professional, yet so very warm and kind.

The place was about two-thirds full at 530 pm. The Servers and staff seemed to know quite a few folks eating, so I'm guessing many were regulars from this town of about 9500. The Missus and I were so impressed by the staff….there was a young man with obvious learning/cognitive disabilities having dinner with his parents. Apparently he's a regular. All staff members dropped by to tell him hello, they knew he was wearing his "favorite shirt", they knew his favorite dishes….they embodied the "Aloha spirit". And this reminded me of why I almost took a job there back in the early 90s!

It's totally a tasting menu here two starters and desserts and a main. What we really enjoyed was that you could order 2 first courses and bypass the dessert! We ended up ordering three starters and one dessert which suited us perfectly!

Peter Merriman is considered one of the pioneers of "Hawaii Regional Cuisine", something that I have a love-hate relationship with. At its best the food represents the melting pot of people and cuisines of my home. At worse it is a cliched, soul less con-"fusion" of flavors and textures. I was hoping for the best here and the wonderful service had us off to a good start.

The amuse was Smoked Ulu (breadfruit) with Taro Chips. Basically a version of pulehu ʻulu.

I don't think the Missus has had ulu before. There were all the flavors She enjoys in this; a mild smokiness, a pleasantly sweet-rich flavor which harkens to a mix of sweet potato and roasted chestnut. She loved it.

Next up, the Shoyu Poke.

The Ahi as of excellent quality, so tender, well marinated in shoyu, though we would have appreciated more inamona and ogo. The mashed avocado kind of dulled the flavor of the poke.

The shrimp in the Grilled Wild Shrimp Bulgogi was fabulous; sweet and briny.

This really didn't need much and we were glad that the "bulgogi" flavoring did not interfere with the wonderful sweetness of the shrimp which were also cooked to perfection.

The Kalua Pork Quesadilla was our least favorite dish of the evening.

The pork was too salty, the smoke flavor too mild, the "tortilla" was more too hard and brittle; the sauce too sweet. This could have used something with a bit of "heat" to it.

The Missus ordered the "Day Boat Catch".

The fish was mahi mahi and was quite fresh, nicely cooked, mist and tender. The prawns were the highlight of this dish; fabulously tender and sweet.

This being cow country; I went with the Kua'Aina Beef Tenderloin. It was a great choice.

It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, loved the beefiness. I was told this is grass fed beef, so I expected it to be more toothsome. The cauliflower was delicious; at least that's what the Missus said as She quickly poached them all from the plate. The jalapeno mashed potatoes were quite creamy and not really spicy at all.

The Missus enjoyed the "Chocolate Purse".

Overall, we enjoyed the meal and loved the service. We'll definitely return in the future.

Merriman's Big Island
65-1227 Opelo Rd.
Waimea, HI 96743

I had picked the Waimea Country Lodge for a simple reason. Right next door is the Waimea Town Market, which opens at 730am on Saturdays! In fact, I could see the market, which takes place at the Parker School from our window.

And we headed on over right after the market opened.

We enjoyed our time there.

And made some nice purchases.

Waimea Town Market at Parker School
65-1224 Lindsey Rd
Waimea, HI 96743

On a fun note; the gentleman who was working the Akaka Falls Farm stand started chatting with us. He asked us where we were from and we told him "San Diego". He asked "where in San Diego"? And we said "Bay Park". He stuck his hand out to us for handshakes and told us, "North Clairemont baby!!!!" We cracked up.

Such a small world, huh?

COMC – Memories of Meals in Provence (Before Covid)

September 30, 2023 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Provence, France, Travel

**** This post is done by request. It's of places we visited back in 2019. I'll be back with more up to date posts tomorrow!

I was recently asked about some recommendations for Provence. The reader (who requested anonymity) sent me a fine email asking me if we'd ever been there. And yes we had! And we loved our tine in Provence and enjoyed our stay in Avignon. But why no posts you might ask? Well, we visited in the winter of 2019. I always seem to have a backlog of travel posts it seems. By the time I had gotten around to posting on our trip….well, this thing named Covid happened. For the longest time, I really didn't feel comfortable doing travel posts…..in the middle of a pandemic. And then when I restarted, well, I was so behind. I was not even going to do posts on our trip to Israel and Jordan. But thanks to "FOYs" KerriK and LaurieH, who both indicated that they wanted those posts, I did them. But by the time those were completed it was mid-spring of 2022! I did a post on our short stay in Paris before heading to Provence and then decided that with a huge backlog of travel and road trip posts to just forgo posting on Provence. I did mention our "interesting stay" at CDG, before heading home from that trip since it dovetailed into our returning to Paris in 2022. So, since this "FOY" wants to see some photos of our meals in Provence….waaaay back from 2019, here goes.

La Cuisine du Dimanche (since closed):

Was our first dinner in Avignon.

This was an interesting meal. Some of the combinations were odd and the presentations somewhat strange for some dishes.

La Cuisine du Dimanche
31 Rue de la Bonneterie
84000 Avignon, France

L'Agape:

This was a nice dinner. Modern presentation, nice flavors.

L'Agape
21 Place des Corps Saints
84000 Avignon, France

Avenio:

Our favorite dinner during our stay in Avignon.

Avenio
19 Rue Des Trois Faucons
84000 Avignon, France

Maison Ripert:

This was a nice meal. A bit too much going on, but still excellent ingredients.

Maison Ripert
28 Rue de la Bonneterie
84000 Avignon, France

L'Épicerie de Ginette:

Lest you think we were just eating in fancy restaurants. one of our favorite places was L'Épicerie de Ginette. We visited twice. After all, who wouldn't love this.

We loved the tartines here.

L'Épicerie de Ginette
25 Place des Corps Saints
84000 Avignon, France

And while I'm not sure how valuable this post will be now, I hope your meals are wonderful!

Paris – Dinner at Les Enfants Rouge (Again)

September 23, 2023 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, France, French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Paris, France, Travel

After taking a break from a fun day, we decided to head on out before dinner. The destination? One that we consider a must visit during the holiday season in Paris. We are always interested to see the Christmas window displays at Galeries Lafayette. This would the third holiday season we'd be in Paris, so we couldn't miss that, right?

We walked on over from the 3rd Arrondissement to the bright lights of Galeries Lafayette in full Holiday mode. We strolled around and took in the holiday window display.

Every year the display tells a story. The last time we were in Paris during the holiday season (pre-Covid, 2019) the theme was bees and the hive.

This time, the theme….well, we couldn't quite figure it out.

Can you figure out what the story is about?

After making it around to all the windows; it looked like something to do with outer space and aliens?

Later we'd return to Galeries Lafayette and get the full scoop on the story…..

From here we decided to walk to our dinner destination. Of course, this is Paris, so it was a stroll full of landmarks….

I had made reservations at a place we'd enjoyed previously. Les Enfants Rouge, located right around the corner from Marché des Enfants Rouges was a favorite of our from our previous trip. Yes, we'd been to several places of what we call the "Nikkei revolution" in Paris. Chefs from Japan who worked in the highest levels of French restaurants and eventually opened places of their own. We'd been honored and blessed to sample the dishes at places like ERH, Pertinence, and Alliance among others. But what we had enjoyed at Les Enfants Rouge was the unfussy dishes which leaned more toward Japanese cuisine in our opinion.

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As before we strolled down the quiet side street and entered the neat and rather austere restaurant and was greeted by the very kind and professional hostess who led us to our table. As before we went with the three course menu for 75€ and one wine pairing.

And like before, we basically shared everything family style and the great service picked up on this and placed dishes in the middle with separate plates for us!

The Lamb Terrine was so very tasty, mildly gamey, and might I say, almost refreshing in a way?

Loved the purple cabbage slaw and the shallot and parsley sauce, all of which went well with the terrine and the bread! The terrine was also perfectly seasoned with an soft texture which belied the look of a farmhouse style terrine.

The Duck Hearts were not as metallic-iron-ny as expected.

In terms of flavor, it was definitely savory and very "ducky" to the tenth power. The foam had a nice sweetness to it, helping to temper the flavor of the duck. We didn't care for the Roquefort Risotto which had some hard pieces and detracted from the overall flavor of the dish.

The Roasted Scallops were fabulous, perfectly cooked, still rare in the center, sweet, with a briny finish.

The seafood based "sauce" was very creamy, hints of savory shellfish, the mushrooms were earthy, with a mild sweetness to them.

And then the dish we were waiting for, the Tempura Fish. On our previous visit, it was the highlight of the meal. Make that "meals" as this again was amazing!

This time the fish was maigre, which I understand is croaker. The fish was coated in a light and crisp batter and was very moist. For us, it's that deeply savory, nori based "dashi" that is so deeply umami and really takes the mild flavored fish to a different level.

There was one dessert that sounded interesting, the Baba with Toki Whiskey, a 10€ upcharge.

The typical looking Baba arrived at the table and then, no kidding, they brought a bottle of Toki out and proceeded to pour around two ounces of it over the Baba. We cracked up! Liked the whiskey, not quite sure about the "Rum Baba".

We both enjoyed the Lychee Mousse which wasn't overly sweet. And surprisingly the grapefruit supreme paired well with this!

This was another wonderful meal at Les Enfants Rouge. Great unpretentious service, great food, we can't wait to return.

Les Enfants Rouges
9 Rue de Beauce
75003 Paris, France

Of course, this in itself presents another interesting issue of sorts. Over time, we've come up with some favorite places to eat. And it seems that it may be hard to try other places without sacrificing a visit to one of our favorites!

Though looking at it another way, if that's the biggest issue we have with Paris; well that's a nice "problem" to have, right?

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Road Trip – Dinner at Geronimo (Santa Fe, NM)

March 11, 2023 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, European Restaurants, Fine Dining, New Mexico, Road Trip, Santa Fe/Taos, New Mexico, Travel

We took a short break after our day of hiking and exploring. Our room was very comfortable, I'm sure we'll stay here again next time.

For our "special" meal in Santa Fe, I had originally wanted Sazon, but due to the chef recently winning the James Beard Best Chef Southwest (2022), I just wasn't able to get reservations. So I searched around a bit and saw Geronimo mentioned on many lists. And I managed to make reservations with no problem.

And deciding to make the 20 minute walk up (and then down) artsy Canyon Road would turn out to be a lot of fun. The street is full of historic adobe houses, most of which have been turned into art galleries.

Canyon Road is made for strolling, exploring and enjoying all the art.

I'm glad we headed out early as we spent a good amount of time checking out various galleries and all the wonderful art!

My favorite by far is "Peace Offering" by the late Walt Horton, in which a squirrel offers up an acorn to a sweet looking and curious bear. It looks so wonderfully adorable. You can't help but smile when you see it!

Geronimo is located in a historic 250 year old building. The namesake of the restaurant is not who you think it would be, but rather it is named for Geronimo Lopez who was the house's original owner.

While many folks were seated on the veranda, we chose seats in the warm and classy dining room.

The service was excellent, the perfect mix of efficient professionalism without being snobby or intrusive. Things got off on the right foot with a glass of Champagne.

After perusing the menu; the Missus decided on the four course Vegetarian Tasting Menu ($80) with a wine pairing ($90). I decided to order two appetizers and a side for my meal.

The Missus's first course was a nice Endive Salad.

Nice peppery-bitterness from the endive, I thought the onion vinaigrette had a good pungent-sweet balance.

Up for me was the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio ($30).

Man, this was so good. The clean, almost sweet slices of Wagyu Beef went so well with the bitter-nutty arugula. The shreds of Parmesan added salty milkiness, while the classic addition of capers provided the right amount of a pickled sour and salt. The herb oil really wasn't needed, but the mustard horseradish sauce was just perfect on this.

Next up for the Missus was the Wild Mushroom and Sherry Bisque.

In what was a very classy move, I was brought out a cup of the bisque as well since I had to wait for my next course! Super cool! The bisque was decadently smooth and velvety, but the Missus said there wasn't enough earthy mushroom flavor for Her. Of course, She's become quite the mushroom soup snob.

Since I hadn't expected a course, I had ordered an Old Fashioned, which was quite delish.

Next up for me….why I ordered appetizers part 2, the Foie Gras ($30).

Perfectly seared , this wiggly slice of heaven was delici-yoso, with the duck demiglace adding another layer of rich-savory flavor. The "French Toast" teetered on the sweeter side, but the foie gras nicely brought it back to earth.

I also got a side of Broccolini ($10) which was nicely cooked, because….well, I needed something that actually looked healthy, you know what I mean?

The Missus's next dish was the Risotto.

Nice basil tones and that Parmesan infusion went so well with the peppery-citrusy flavored arborio rice. The artichokes and asparagus were delicious. But, as is often the case with risotto, some of the rice was still on the hard and chewy side. Still, great flavors overall.

The Missus enjoyed Her dessert, the Meyer Lemon Crepe.

This was a nice meal, with classy, yet warm and unstuffy service, and worth the price in our mind. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairing. It was a great way to end our time in Santa Fe.

Geronimo
724 Canyon Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

We headed back down Canyon Road and ran into one of the two couples (the one without the pooch) we saw during our hike. They recognized us first and said hello. We all cracked up! They were headed to Geronimo and we told them that they'd enjoy there meal there. We hope they did.

Ambling back to the hotel, in the light of the "golden hour" (the sun doesn't set until after 7pm in September), admiring all the art, gave us time to reflect on how lucky we were to be able to dine at places like Geronimo and enjoy cities like Santa Fe.

And "Peace Offering" will always bring a smile to my face!