Los Angeles County – Page 6

Road Trip – Bistro Na’s (Temple City)

April 15, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

One of the main reasons I was really excited about our road trip to the SGV, was our reservations at Bistro Na's. I'd read about the opening of Bistro Na's; supposedly serving "Imperial Court Cuisine", in places like Food Talk Central and various blog posts over the last two years. I'd had a taste of this style of cuisine during a our final meal in Beijing. And since this restaurant was an extension of Beijing's Najia Xiaoguan (那家小馆), I was quite excited.

And overall, even though the menu wasn't exactly totally Chinese Imperial Cuisine; at least in the way I've read about it, there was an interesting balance of flavors and textures with mostly excellent cooking technique. Also, one of the key elements of Jing Cuisine was the ability to blend the techniques of the Han, Manchu, Hui, and other ethnic groups as well characteristics of all other various schools, including the "Four Major Cuisines", the "Eight Great Cuisines", and all things in between.

Service was the best I've had in a Chinese eating establishment in years. It was gracious and efficient, and our main Server was amazingly warm and friendly, while being a total professional. Man, Ed from Yuma would have loved this place.

The location; right off Rosemead Boulevard was an area I hadn't been to in maybe 20 years! Man, has it changed. The last time we were in the area, at Xiang Yuan Gourmet, we came up Temple City Boulevard instead.

The parking lot for this strip mall is terrible, we ended up parking on the street across the way.

The interior is quite a sight to see….with warrens of rooms and booths. The décor is quite what I'd call traditional in concept. The menu; with every dish photographed is thick as a college textbook.

And of course, dishes are "social media" ready….though I'd never seen anyone take 12 photos of a single black cod dish until this day…..

The first dish up was the signature "Crispy Shrimp".

Man, this really set the stage for the meal. The texture of the shells, delicately thin and crisp, in contrast to the perfectly cooked flesh, plump and tender, was amazing. The sauce had some sweetness, but there was just the lightest touch of spice to move things along. The Missus preferred eating Hers separate, meat from shells, while I preferred mine together. If you have these, please eat those shells. Don't be like the "Black Cod Girls" and leave those behind. Excellent dish.

My favorite dish of the night would seem to be the most humble; the Chili Tofu Skin; yep bean curd skin.

The cilantro in this was really amazing…I know, that sounds weird, but it had a nice slight anise, that went along with almost a minty-celery flavor. The bean curd skin was so very crisp, yet light, the dressing, which had both a touch of cumin and what seemed to be a bit of Sichuan peppercorn, along with just the lightest touch of sesame oil just brought things together so well. It was so refreshing.

The one clunker for the meal was the Jellied Pig's Feet.

The texture was excellent, but the flavors seemed a bit off. It just didn't have enough porkiness for us. This was rather mundane.

What wasn't mundane was the "Secret Tofu". This was basically an steamed egg-tofu, laid on a bok choy leaf that's sliced, dusted, and fried.

Crisp and light, with a nice, pleasant egg flavor. The bok choy layer added a nice contrast in texture and a mild bitterness to the dish. The sauce added a mild sweetness and savory tones to the dish.

The Dry Braised Sea Bass was cooked perfectly; it was buttery and moist in texture. Our really nice Server kept warning us about how spicy it was….but it wasn't very spicy at all.

The sauce was fairly mild and straight forward, the topping which included mushrooms, bamboo shoots, scallions, and pork was nice as it added some contrast. The Missus enjoyed it, but I guess I wanted something with a bit more oomph? Though I've got to say, this tasted better then next day.

For dessert; there's a combination snack platter that has all those treats the Missus loved when going to school in Beijing. And even though it was a ton of stuff and $36, I told Her to order it. However, She decided just to go with this…..

It's "Milky Cheese"; basically milk pudding with cheese in it in the shape of a fish. The Missus enjoyed it; I'm not a big fan of milk pudding and the cheese aftertaste wasn't my favorite thing in the world….this coming from a cheese lover.

The Missus really loved this meal. I expected it to be much more expensive than it was….we regularly spend more at El Jardin. Of course we didn't order any of the really meat heavy items on the menu.

We'll definitely be back. Muslim style dishes are quite common in Jing Cai; and we saw several on the menu we'd like to try.

If you do decide to check out Bistro Na's; at least on the weekend, make reservations. There was a huge line of waitlisted folks outside when we left.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 230pn, 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 930pm

Road Trip – Northern Cuisine Restaurant (City of Industry)

April 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had missed one of our yearly appointments back in our old "neck of the woods" last year. So, we needed to catch up and get that taken care of this year. We decided to use some of our "points" and make it an overnight stay. Our appointment ended right before noon, so we decided to grab lunch close by. I had Northern Cuisine, a restaurant that opened at the beginning of 2017, in the same mall that used to house Cost Plus when we lived in the area.

The restaurant is good sized with rather large tables. Looking at the menu, it was quite obvious that large parties would fit in well. And even though there is stuff like Song Shu Gui Yu (松鼠桂鱼), "Squirrel Fish", and Peking Duck on the menu; there was just one item I really wanted. more on that later.

We weren't super hungry so we just ordered three items and it was still too much for us to finish. Luckily our room had a mini-fridge and I'd brought an ice chest along.

First dish up was the "Big Plate Cauliflower"……the Missus loves Her cauliflower and I often make a cumin – "ma-la" version at home so we were interested in how this would be.

This was pretty good; there was a light dusting of Sichuan Peppercorn which highlighted the mild sweetness of the cauliflower. All items were cooked nicely. The pork belly was very tender and while not exactly "la rou" (Hunan smoked pork), it did have a mild smokiness to it. The chilies added a sneaky heat to things and the leek a mild pungency. Pretty good dish.

The Boiled Bamboo Pot was interesting for one main reason.

It was the presence of a certain canned meat product….though I'm thinking it wasn't the most popular brand. It actually did well in this as the earthy and crisp bamboo shoots needed some saltiness and more depth. The shredded pork was tender, but didn't really add any flavor. Overall, a bit on the bland side.

And then there was the item I'd been craving.

The Tianjin Baozi. According to the menu and our server, this is made fresh to order. I hadn't had a decent Baozi in ages and have recently been craving the Tianjin Baozi from the Tasty Noodle house location in San Gabriel. We wouldn't have time to visit there; so I thought getting my baozi fix in at Northern Cuisine might work out.

And while I wouldn't consider this to be traditional Tianjin Guo Bu Li Baozi ("stuffed buns that even dogs would not eat") it was quite good. The bun, while not overly yeasty in fragrance was light and tender. Both the filling and dough was a bit sweeter than what the Missus's "Shandong – Beijing" palate enjoys, but we quickly found that a drizzle of black vinegar really balanced things out and even added another dimension to the porky goodness of the filling. So, even though I wouldn't consider these to be close to traditional Tianjin style Baozi, I enjoyed them. It was prepared fresh, both the dough and fillings were light, and the black vinegar worked magic in balancing the flavors out. And we could only finish five…..

The service was decent; much more friendly than what we're used to at Chinese places in our old 'hood.

Northern Cuisine Restaurant
17515 Colima Rd.
City of Industry, CA 91748
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 9pm

And those who are wondering how Frankie was doing while we were gone….well, "Auntie Ale" took good care of him….heck, he even made it to an "after-party"!

Thanks Auntie!

Los Angeles – Kinjiro and Karayama

February 4, 2019 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Travel

While we were enjoying Little Tokyo, we knew exactly where we were headed for dinner. I'd been reading about Kinjiro for several years now. And knowing of the Missus's love of Izakaya's, I thought the somewhat modern elevated izakaya type dishes would please Her.

So, I made reservations about a month in advance. My emails were quickly replied to and the process was a breeze. Good thing too….this shop next to the always busy Sushi Gen in Honda Plaza is reservation only.

We were the first customers of the night and were quickly seated by the very efficient, friendly, and knowledgeable young man working the front of house.

It was pretty easy determining what we wanted to eat, starting with the Squid Ink Shiokara ($7)….to think of the days when the Missus wouldn't touch this stuff; but now with Her love of fermented foods (ah those "chinmi" foods) and our visits to Japan and especially Hokkaido, Her tune has really changed.

The wonderful salty-cheesy-funky-oceany-savory and oddly sweet flavors goes so well with sake. We tried several over the course of the evening; our favorite being the Kokuryu “Black Dragon” Junmai Ginjo, smooth, not overly sweet, and so balanced. The squid fermented in guts had the perfect amount of toothsomeness. This was quite good.

Next up was the Uni, Scallop, and Blue Crab in Ponzu Jelly ($25). This was a nice refreshing turn after the shiokara.

On this evening it was Santa Barbara Uni, decent quality, meaty, slightly sweet, mildly astringent. We both loved the tender scallop….talk about sweet and tender. There was quite a bit of tasty, moist crab meat at the bottom of the cup. Perhaps not the best quality, but still quite good. The ponzu jelly helped to create a nice balance in flavors and tie the dish together.

Next up was the Homemade Agedashi Tofu with Mushroom Ankake Sauce $16).

My least favorite dish of the evening. The typical gooey-starchy ankake sauce lacked the woodsy-earthy flavor I enjoy from mushrooms. Even with the dashi backbone it was still quite bland. The tofu was a bit more firm than I enjoy in this type of dish as well.

The Missus's least favorite dish of the night; the Bone Marrow Dengaku ($12).

Deeply beefy in flavor it was just too much for the Missus; but I loved it. The miso wasn't over-powering and paired well with the buttery-rich bone marrow.

The Missus absolutely adored the Seared Uni ($30).

Initially we thought this was going to be a mushy mess; but the uni had kept it's shape well and was very sweet. It went well with the texture of the wakame; which added some crunch and made the actual nori strips somewhat superfluous. I let the Missus have most of this as She loved it so much.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the Tendon, Tongue, Sinew, and Tripe Stew ($18).

This was wonderfully beefy and savory; with just the right amount of savory (read – miso/soy sauce), tanginess (tomato), sweetness (probably mirin/sake)….we were begging for rice! The tendon and tripe were so tender; the tongue had a wonderful beefiness……that dried pesto toast was a travesty to a dish that truly deserved rice! This was wonderful; the flavors taking me back to Nagoya for some reason.

We decided to end the meal here. It was quite nice and I'm sure we'll return. Service was excellent. Again, reservation only, as several parties were turned away.

Kinjiro
424 E 2nd St. (In Honda Plaza)
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Since we had eaten dinner early, we decided to stroll around Little Tokyo a bit more. It was nice to see that an old favorite of the Missus was still going strong.

Though I wondered how much She'd still enjoy it here all these years later?

There's always something interesting to see around here.

At the stage in Japanese Village Plaza brave souls were trying their hand at karaoke.

We hung around a bit to cheer them on!

Wandering around a bit more; I noticed a shop, Karayama a fried chicken chain from Japan had opened in the area. I suddenly had a bit more capacity. At least enough for five pieces of Karaage. So while I waited for my five pieces to go…..

The Missus waited outside checking messages and such.

Sorry to say there's not a whole lot of photos on this one…..

We destroyed the hot, crisp, moist, tasty-but-not-salty pieces of chicken before the end of the block….we'll definitely have to return here!

Karayama
136 S Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Open Daily – 11am – 930pm

We got back to the hotel and got ready or bed. Our shuttle to the airport would be picking us up at 5am the next morning, so we needed to get to sleep early.

Still; I couldn't help but take a peek out the window to see if there was still a line outside Daikokuya……

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner to Los Angeles and a walk around Little Tokyo

February 3, 2019 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Los Angeles County

*** Not much food in this post – so maybe you'll just like to come back tomorrow.

During the fall of 2018, the Missus and I looked back on how busy we'd been the last couple of years. We did have a good number of amazing trips and checked off a few bucket list items during that time. Still, it had been over four years since I was last "home". The Missus hadn't seen Her parents in ages it seemed. So it was time. I decided to use miles and points for some of the trip; so we decided to fly out of LAX…..not something I looked forward to; but heck first class is first class, right? We then decided to catch the train down to LA, something I hadn't done in over a decade. We also hadn't been to Little Tokyo in nine years! Once I planned things out; we quickly pulled the trigger.

And we caught the bus and trolley down to Santa Fe Depot to catch the Surfliner up to Union Station in LA.

The trolley was a lot busier than we anticipated on this day because of the Women's March……

But things went fairly smoothly. Our train left at noon. We'd had a small breakfast, but should have not worried since we were riding Business Class….which gets you this rather large "snack box".

One box was more than enough for the Missus and I; so we saved the other for later on. Some fairly healthy stuff……

There was a 20 minute delay in the OC; but I'd planned our arrival to be close to 3pm to coordinate our check-in at the Miyako Hotel. We were quite excited to check out Little Tokyo. When we lived in the SGV in the late 90's, we'd drop by Little Tokyo almost weekly and were wondering how things were in the area these days. We need not have worried; it was even more busy than we recalled. Our room in the Miyako Hotel overlooked 1st Street and at 3 in the afternoon, the lines for Little Tokyo favorite Daikokuya and Marugame Monzu, which wasn't even there when we last visited the area were pretty long.

We quickly freshened up and then headed out; with mixture of excitement of revisiting a pace that we loved when we lived in LA and dread, of possibly finding out some of old favorites were gone.

And while we were surprised at the crowds and all the Daiso like shops, it was nice to see that many old favorites were still there.

I'm not sure if you folks know; it was Frances Hashimoto, President of Mikawaya who invented mochi ice cream.

We took a right on 2nd and headed to Weller Court to see a monument I always try to visit when I'm in Little Tokyo.

Located on the street named after him is the Astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Monument. Way back on January 28th, 1986 it was quite early on a Tuesday morning in Honolulu. I was off from work; my eyes glued to the television for the launching of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was to be an important launch for several reasons; Christa McAuliffe was to be the first Teacher, a civilian launched into space. Even more important to many of us in Hawaii, Ellison Onizuka, a Sansei from Kona, who had become the first Asian American in space the year before was part of the crew. Sadly, 73 seconds into the flight, the shuttle broke apart, killing all seven crew members aboard. It was a sad day and one I'll never forget.

From an address he made to the graduating class of Konawaena High School (his alma mater) in 1980"

"Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace then think of the new horizons that you can explore.

From your vantage point, your education and imagination will carry you to places which we won’t believe possible.

Make your life count – and the world will be a better place because you tried."

We took the corner back down on 1st street and was happy to see Anzen Hardware (est 1946), Fugetsu-do (1903) and Suehiro Café (1972) were still in business.

Which brought a smile to our faces. We need to drop by Suehiro again one of these days….

For now; it was time to take a short break and then head out to dinner……

Thanks for stopping by!

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Showcase of Floats, a meal at Mr. D.’s Diner (Pomona)

January 8, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Salads, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a blog about food. There's always some reason we get to try the food that is blogged about. Today is a post of a New Year tradition (which I've shared for a few years) and a meal at a 'new-to-us' place.

The day began with an early wake up and drive North to Pasadena, where the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade showcase of floats were lined up end-to-end on Sierra Madre Avenue, at the end of the five mile parade route. The walk along the floats is 2.5 miles and it's not all flat. There were 45 floats, along with Equestrian Units and Marching bands, for a total of 91 Units in the Parade. (I do have photos of each of the floats, many photos. If there is one you would like to see, I can put it at the end of this post). For now, here are some details of some of the floats which you might have missed as they ran across your television screen in less than 30 seconds. "Books Keep Us on Our Toes", by The UPS Store featured this ostrich in her ballet shoes and won the Sweepstakes Trophy for most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment.
"Garden Fresh" by Mrs. Meyers Clean Day featured the trademark outline of Mrs. Meyer watering a bathing (see the loofah?) sunflower.
Easter Seals is observing its 100th year and in addition to a cake and gifts, there was a cupcake or two on the float. The Lions Clubs International float, "Rockin' the Vest" (an ode to this 2011 'Rap' video used for recruiting new, younger members) had the Lion tail swinging along with the music. Also note the various materials used on the body of the Cadillac-nothing is one dimensional when decorating.

Cal Poly and "Far Out Frequencies" incorporated a guitar, accordion, tamborine and french horn in the design.
Carnival Cruise Lines had some SCUBA divers "underwater".
The backside of the drumming "Taiwan The Heart of Asia" entry from China Airlines (which won the International Trophy for Most Outstanding float from outside the United States) is beautifully detailed.
When the Stella Rosa "Taste the Magic" float first appeared, there was a great display of confetti and streamers, but even in the stationary position, there is a sort of motion seen in the design.
If you are from Southern California and listen to the radio, when Trader Joe's ads are finished, the announcer always says 'Thanks for Listening'…and the abbreviated license plate on their float (THX4LSN) is an ode to that detail.
The Big Bear "Play-Rest-Repeat" float entry showed many of the various activities available all four seasons in this community a few hours North of San Diego. Not only skiing and snowboarding, but also boating and fishing.

The Northwestern Mutual float, showed an elephant family on vacation, taking 'selfies'. This view (of the camera screen taking the selfie) was of the 'off camera' side; every part of each float is detailed.

There was a small fire on board the longest float entry this year (Link to story), disrupting the end of the parade. The float was saved because of good preparation (you know, all of those Road Tests I post about have one of the tests the ability for the entire float to clear off and out in 45 seconds). This entry from the Chinese American Heritage Foundation, "Harmony Through Union", depicting the final nail joining the Transcontinental Railroads (the "Golden Spike") was on display at the Showcase as was the tow truck that brought the float to this location.

Here are details of some other floats.

When we left the Showcase viewing area and started driving, we had to stop at Arsen's House of Cookies first (for cookies, boureks and a calendar) then headed East…somehow getting to Foothill Boulevard while passing many 'possible' lunch spots. We had seen another location of Mr. D's Diner but kept driving, until we saw this location and stopped.

The building looked like it had been a Coco's or some similar type of 'family' restaurant. The 'Specials' list outside the door showed us the pricing was reasonable.

The decor, 50's (this is part of "Route 66" after all). The menu had nine pages. The "To Go" menu only has seven pages.
We hadn't had much of a breakfast, so the Pancake Combo ($8.49) was a choice. Really nice, sweet, fluffy pancakes, perfect over easy eggs, skin on sausage and crispy flavorful bacon. Just right.
As with many of these family type diners, Greek choices are on the menu. The "Traditional Greek Salad" ($10.79)(add chicken $2.99) has on the menu in bold lettering "Lettuce Upon Request". "Traditional" means you get this- tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell peppers feta and greek olives tossed in Greek olive oil and herbs. The (very large) bowl was topped with toasted pita. With the (plentiful amount of) grilled chicken, this was a hearty, tasty, perfect meal. It didn't need lettuce.

Glad we stopped and hope to stop here again.

Mr. D's Diner 401 E. Foothill Blvd. Pomona, CA (909)938-4222 Open daily 6 a.m.-10 p.m. website

Philippe the Original- a quick trip North for an apple (and some sandwiches)(again)

December 27, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! during this busy holiday season. Kirk is working some overtime and Cathy is writing.

The Mister and I had a spur of the moment flash this morning (for a reason you'll see at the end) and drove North for a quick bite. { Kirk posted back in 2007, and I wrote a post in 2014 and another post in 2016}.

Philippe the Original has been a Los Angeles staple for 110 years. It's been at this corner location since 1951.
The system is the same as it was in 1908; stand in line, order from the "carver" host ( who will prepare your meal while you stand there), pay (since 2015, they take credit cards!) and carry your tray filled with your order to whatever empty table space you can find. There's part of the menu as well as a peek into the kitchen and a jar of pickled eggs.
Action shot of our Host/Carver (Henrietta) slicing a French roll.
Some of our order is ready…
This is a pretty good photo of most of the desserts offered-I was interested in what is in that tray at the 10:00 position in this photo…the red things next to the cookies. Our order, counterclockwise. Lemonade (90¢). Single dip lamb sandwich ($9.85). Potato salad ($1.65). Double dip beef sandwich ($8.50). Pickled egg ($1.40). Baked apple ($3). Cup of chili ($3.25).
Here's a cross section of the double dipped beef and 1/4 of the quickly consumed chunky single dipped lamb. Each was wonderful in its own way. We did use drops of the famous house made very hot French mustard, available on each table. (I still contend that the recipe is partly hot Chinese mustard, since Chinatown is one block away)(the mustard has no horseradish). Either a pickle or a pickled egg is necessary with the meal. I love beets as well as pickled anything and the eggs here are ridiculously good. It's that bit of salt/bitter that goes with everything.
Around the third week of January each year, Philippe has a 'free chili day' for the first 500 customers. I've read about it but never tried the chili until today. It is a wonderful, slightly spicy/ hot Dolores brick chili (no beans; proper), served with three crackers. There's nothing else on the menu to go with chili and I can see this comfort cup (or bowl) being a meal choice if we lived closer (and therefore visited Philippe daily).

But really, the baked apple was the necessary purchase of the day. You see, from October until May the baked apples are available daily until they run out. During those other four months you can get a half grapefruit or a wonderful fruit cup. But this simply made, large and delicious treat was a craving.
Apples are cooked in deep pan in the the oven with a slightly sweet cinnamon syrup. Soft enough to be cut with a spoon (but you still have to hold the apple in place with a fork; it's not mushy), this baked fruit is just the perfect dessert to a hearty meal.

Philippe the Original 1001 N. Alameda Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 628-3781 open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily Website

Why did we decide to drive here today? So we could share a meal "live" with my brother and his family in Michigan. Philippe teamed up with Goldbelly in April and has has a six sandwich meal deal; a Christmas gift. The FaceTime meal worked out quite well.

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating, dinner at Costa’s Family Restaurant (Covina)

December 5, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes includes stories about attainment of the food. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk is busy at work.

This past Saturday, the 'Dry Decoration Days' for the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade at Phoenix Decorating Company began. Here are some photos of materials and details of what happened. (sentence descriptions are in order of thumbprints) The various colors of statice need to be cut from the stems (after drying a bit). There are crushed peas, yellow straw flowers, some leftover straw flowers from last year. You can see black beans which were tediously placed on some signage (those beans have white 'eyes' which need to be placed away from being seen). There are branches and lunaria ('money plant'-those opaque white circles) and pine cones. The beans use 'oasis glue' to stick to the foam backing. Green pea halves are glued on the 'Service Rocks' signage. The watermelons have the light stripes covered in crushed green peas and the dark stripes are covered in crushed dry parsley. More pine cones are taken apart and the individual acicular shaped leaves (sometimes called needles) are individually placed on the edge of a small 'birdhouse'. Dry materials are stored in large airtight trash cans.
Here's a look at the 'Glue Station' where each type of glue (white and oasis) are picked up (and where unused glue is returned).

Here are some of the 19 floats being decorated here (some floats are still under construction).
The Banner float- first one you will see in the parade. it introduces the theme of "The Melody of Life". Each float will have some sort of way of showcasing music and/or musical instruments. The Grand Marshal of the Parade is Chaka Kahn.
"Service Rocks" sponsored by Rotary International. See…the crocodile…and the title includes 'rocks'…I'm guessing 'Crocodile Rock' is the song for this float.
"Fezzy's garden of Hope and Healing", sponsored by Shriners Hospitals for Children. It's cute, pretty and will be fun to watch. "Rockin the Vest" sponsored by Lions Clubs International. If you recall, I posted a link to the 2011 Lions Club video (titled 'Rockin' the Vest') which was used to recruit new members. Lions Club is the world's largest volunteer organization and members wear distinctive yellow vests when performing community service. The United Sikh Mission is sponsoring "A Divine Melody Resonates in All", featuring a Rabab, a stringed instrument from around AD 900.
"Garden Fresh" has such a cute float design for a new sponsor this year, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day."Yellow Submarine", sponsored by Western Asset will be. joy to watch as well as hear. Many interesting materials will be used on this float.
"Helping Kids Rock Their Future", sponsored by Kiwanis International is a giant 'jukebox'(the underside of those records are covered with either poppy seeds or black onion seeds).
The American Legion, a Veteran association, is sponsoring "Still Serving America" this year. (All floats have to be able to fit along the parade route in certain areas and so that's why you see 'collapsed' parts, like the eagle head).
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, a service organization, is celebrating "200 years of Harmony" with this delightful calliope featuring flags of some of the countries where they serve.
The American Armenian Rose Float Association is sponsoring another history laden float, "Chanting Stones, Karahunj" and will feature two men dancing atop the 'Singing Stones' of Sisian. The City of Hope is sponsoring "Harmony of Hope", which will be another beautiful float reminding us of The Miracle of Science with Soul. You'll see some DNA strands and other details when the float passes.
"Joy to the World, the Lord is Come" is presented by the Lutheran Hour Ministries and will not only have bells and horns on the float, but also a choir! (we volunteer with the Petal Pushers to decorate floats which helps defray the cost of this, the only Christian themed float, in the Parade for the 69th year).
The entry from Trader Joe's, "Ride, Captain, Ride" has a secret you'll see on January 1. Even without the surprise, it's an attractive float.
The final float in the parade will advertise what's coming up later that day, the 105th Rose Bowl football game. The float is a replica of the bowl and has a replica of the trophy given to the winning team.
The City of Alhambra's float, "Home Tweet Home"is just so very distinguished and cute.

I have had posts showing road tests of most of these floats (Road tests #1 and #2…Road test #3…Road tests #4 and #5…and Road Test #6. 2018 has been long and the parade will be here on January 1, 2019 to kick off a new beginning.

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This is why (most of) you are here…the food portion of this post.

The Mister and I were exhausted and left the float barn at about 4:30. We did have lunch and a light breakfast (at the Kolache Factory) and were ready for a relaxing (seated on real chairs) dinner. We headed back to a spot here we enjoyed breakfasts two weeks in a row-Costa's Family Restaurant in Covina, a few exits east of our Irwindale entrance back onto the 210.The back room had a few Christmas decorations.
My meal came with a salad and I was asked if beets would be OK…of course beets are OK, beets are wonderful!
The Mister had a choice of soups and chicken and dumplings it was…made from scratch. A great soup.
The dinner rolls were, of course, home made.
The Mister ordered the Trout Dinner ($10.49). Lightly pan fried, skin on trout filet served with a house made tartar sauce, tomato-onion green beans and (real) rice pilaf. This food- all of it was wonderful.
I decided on a menu dinner special, Prime Rib ($13.49). Got it with the same green beans and a baked potato. Wonderful, satisfying, most of everything from scratch…what more could we want?
Dessert- included (!) This is a from scratch tapioca pudding. Vanilla…very vanilla.
Bread pudding…caramel bread pudding.

If we lived in Covina, Costa's would be a daily stop.

Costa's Family Restaurant 851 E. San Bernadino Road Covina, CA 91723 Open Daily 5:30a.m. – 9 p.m.

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Test #6; Breakfast at Bravo Burgers (Chino)

November 18, 2018 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a blog about food. There are so many reasons we discover the food. Cathy is writing today's post, because she did this drive and saw this stuff and discovered another restaurant on the way home. Kirk isn't in town.

Yesterday was the sixth 'official' road test for floats participating in the 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade built by Phoenix Decorating Company. { Here are links to road tests #1 and #2, road test #3 and here is road test #4 and #5} (There are three other decorating companies and six floats are 'self built'; we volunteer with the Petal Pushers when we decorate floats. You can, too!).
The first float you will see in the parade, "Theme Float" will have the theme banner right there on the front (where the rectangle is cut out for the float 'spotter' to look out onto the parade route (each float has a 'driver', who basically looks down onto the rose colored line drawn on the street to know he/she is driving along the center of the route and a 'spotter' who communicates to the driver via a headset if the pace needs to be slowed, stopped or sped up)(look for other 'spotter' rectangles in the next two float photos)). The theme of "The Melody of Life" is reflected on that swoop going up behind the float- see the small music notes?
The closing float this year will remind viewers of what is to come- the Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl Game. The float is designed like the Rose Bowl Stadium and a larger than life replica of the winners trophy is prominent.
Western Asset's entry is simply titled "Yellow Submarine"..and we can all guess which song we will hear when it passes on the television screen (or in front of you if you are fortunate enough to have a seat on Colorado Boulevard on January 1).

The American Armenian Rose Float Association's entry of "Chanting Stones" Is proving to be again, another educational entry: KARAHUNJ “Armenia’s singing stones full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and simplicity.”
Located on a mountain plateau in Sisian in the Syunik province, also called Zorats Karer in Armenian which literally translates to Army Stones, Karahundj (meaning Speaking Stones probably related to the fact that on a windy day the stones make whistling sounds because of holes in the stones. According to the scientist’s findings, a temple consisting of 40 stones built in honor of the Armenians’ main God, Ari, meaning the Sun, is situated in the central part. It also had a large observatory and a university. In total 223 stones or so were registered.
These basalt stones range from 0.5 to 3 m high and weigh up to 10 tons.
It is even suggested based on findings that it predates the Stonehenge by 3500 years.
Honda- the sponsor of the parade had a road test of "Celebration of Dreams". The main float is way up front, followed by five 'satellite' floats. Here is a link to artist renditions of the Phoenix Decorating Company floats for the 2019 parade.

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We now move to the food portion of this post. Long story short, last Saturday we arrived before Cravings by 99 Ranch opened (at 10 a.m.) and drove around looking for a non-chain breakfast place. We ate here then and again the following Saturday.
Under the 71 and turning down the parallel road, we saw this. Turns out there are four locations of Bravo Burgers, none in San Diego.

The menu is there on the wall behind the cash registers, along with some supplemental menu specials on the counter.

The ham and egg sandwich ($6.29) is quite large, with a large piece ham steak, plenty of eggs and lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. What a breakfast!
On the countertop Specials board, the waffle with two eggs and two sausage ($7.79) looked interesting. The waffle was sweet, crispy, fluffy with perfect over easy eggs and wonderful skin on breakfast sausages. Coarse grind and great flavor.
The bacon egg burrito ($6.29) is hefty. Eggs, bacon, cheese and hash browns (see next photo). This was a good choice.
Steak and eggs ($11.15) came with more of those crispy hash browns. The eggs, again cooked perfectly and the steak a definite medium rare. Plenty of food and I think the first item (the ham and egg sandwich) was enough for a meal. We'll try more menu items next time…maybe even a Bravo Burger.

Bravo Burgers 14698 Pipeline Avenue Chino Hills, CA (909)393-5595 website Open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

There's a salsa bar set up all day next to the beverage machine. Great salsas, great chips.

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests 4/5. Breakfasts at Costa’s (Covina)

November 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. This particular post is about food discovered while checking out another Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test. Kirk is taking a break from blogging and Cathy is writing.

For your convenience, here are links to 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road Tests #1/2, Road Test #3, and Road Test #6

I'll start this post out with the food. The Rose Parade float road testing at the end of September was a "closed set" and no photos were allowed. Of course we didn't know and drove the two hours that Saturday morning anticipating photos and a meal as a post. Since we saw what we could and left kind of soon, we were barely hungry, so drove East on the 210 and randomly took the Grand Avenue exit, driving South. At the signal light at San Bernadino Road, we saw this and decided to stop in.

Costa's was opened in 1991 and has quite a few dining areas- inside and outside. The decor is home spun and eclectic. The menu shows breakfast and lunch/dinner specials Monday -Friday and different specials on weekends. The prices are more than reasonable.
The chicken fried steak ($8.99-from the regular, not weekend special menu) comes with three eggs and your choice of toast (raisin in this case) was wonderful! Lightly breaded, fried crisp, this large piece of cube steak was way more food than expected. The country fried potatoes were vegetable heavy (in a good way) and those three eggs were cooked to a perfect over easy; runny with crisped whites. Oh, the gravy is from scratch and is great without the addition of the sausage, which brings it to another level.

The breakfast special of Eggs Benedict ($9.29) came with a peach half or I could have substituted a few other items, but I decided to go with the chef's vision. I think the presentation was pretty. Also, I haven't had canned peaches in forever and this one was not 'heavy syrup' sweetness. The hollandaise sauce was from scratch and very lemony- a good thing. The perfectly poached eggs on top of the triangle cut ham steak slices on top of toasted English muffin halves was just heaven in every bite.

When the October road test was happening, we got to take photos and decided to stop at Costa's again. This time, the waffle breakfast ($7.99) with over easy eggs and sausage links. This was quite wonderful; a sweet, malted flavor to the waffle, perfect over easy eggs and the sausage seemed nicer than normal, with a 'skin' and good flavors.
The most expensive weekend special breakfast is $9.99 and we went for it. Steak and eggs. Rye toast, the wonderful home fries and perfectly poached eggs. The steak was surprisingly large and perfectly cooked to a medium-rare and wonderfully flavored.

We may stop here again after the November road test, or after decorating floats in December; it's a great place…all locals.

Costa's Family Restaurant 851 E. San Bernadino Road Covina, CA 91723 Open Daily 5:30a.m. – 9 p.m.

Float road tests Number one and two, the third road testing had been completed and we were looking forward to the one in late September. This was the only photo I was able to snap before being told that no photos would be allowed that day. The second float there (behind the Theme Float you see in front) is Trader Joe's. Apparently there is a part of the mechanics that they want to remain a surprise. The design is cute. In June, I took this photo at the road test; you can see it's sort of an eagle's head and the float looks like a pirate ship (indeed, the the title of the float is "Ride, Captain, Ride", in keeping with the Rose Parade theme of "The Melody of Life", which will have each float with some sort of musical instrument on board) At the October road test, I snapped this photo of the colored in float in the back of the barn. You can see the front of the pirate ship with the eagle head and a sort of hot air balloon in the middle of the float. That's where the 'surprise' will be on January first. At the August road test, we saw this beautiful basic float being driven , testing for maneuverability and mechanics.
At the end of October, the 'cocoon' was covering the float and it was being tested for safety, with people onboard, who had to be able to exit the float in 45 seconds- in case of a fire. The float is by the American Legion – a first time in the parade.
The closing float for the parade in 2019 is a new one and is showing the rest of the Tournament of Roses- the football game. It's a replica of the Rose Bowl and inside, is
a replica of the prize winning trophy. A nice tie into a magnificent New Year Day.

I got a peek of this float being screened in. It's from Western Asset and has a sort of spaceship appearance. There will be another road test later this month and quit a few floats still have to be tested. Decorating (details and dry decorating) begins the first of December and continues for each Saturday then Decorating Week (using live flowers) from December 26-31.

Thanks for reading.

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Float Road Test #3 (meals at Kolache Factory (Tustin) and Douglas Burgers #23 (Lake Elsinore))

August 29, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Ontario/Riverside/San Bernadino, CA, Orange County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, this is a food blog. The first part of today's post will be about the events centered around food. Cathy is writing; Kirk is on a break.

For your convenience: here are links to Road Tests #1/2 Road Tests #4/5 and Road Test #6

Another road test of mechanics and maneuverability for floats participating in the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade, which will roll down the streets of Pasadena (and on your television) on January 1, 2019 occurred last Saturday at Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale. (There are three other float builders as well as six 'self built' floats participating in the Parade).

There's a surreal quality to each float, and the Lions Clubs International entry for this parade is just so cute. "Rocking' The Vest" is a fun "rap" video title from 2011-the inspiration for this float (Lions wear a distinctive yellow vest when volunteering). A Boom Box is on the back seat of the Cadillac, part of having a 'musical instrument' on each float- in accordance with the theme-
The Melody of Life.

"Home Tweet Home is the entry from the City of Alhambra. The large bird outside of the birdhouse moves her head.

Shriners Clubs International features their mascot, Fezzy, on their float, "Fezzy's Garden of Hope and Healing". The butterfly on top of Fezzy's hat (a Fez), flutters.
United Sikh Mission has a float in the Rose Parade for a fifth year. It features a Rabab, a stringed instrument played by the founder (in 1500) of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak. The float title is "A Divine Melody Resonates In All". The message of peace, compassion and one loving God, the foundation of Sikh belief, will be featured in a unique song, "Eternal Cosmic Symphony" by Ghat Ghat Vaaje Naad.

Other floats were tested, in the shell stage; I'll be showing progress next month.

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Here's the food portion of this post.

We leave at 5 a.m., get to Tustin by 6:15 and stop somewhere within the vicinity of Red Hill Avenue. The Kolache Factory is a good choice for a quick snack.
Three kolaches were more than filling for the two of us. The most 'traditional' is the cherry topped sweet dough ($1.75), our 'breakfast dessert'.
The smaller kolache is a bacon-cheese filled delight ($2.45) which is a wonderful, savory, slightly sweet white dough.
The sausage, egg & cheese kolache in wheat dough (there's a choice) ($3.45) is larger, heavier and a filling meal for one; ideal if shared.

Kolache Factory #070 14091 Newport Avenue Tustin, CA 92780 (714) 730-2253 website

Those kolaches were filling! We weren't hungry after float viewing and drove over to the 15 freeway when hunger pangs started to set in. The Mister looked for 'breakfast' on his phone and the next exit (Central Avenue) in Lake Elsinore showed two places of interest. We stopped at the first one.

Douglas Burgers, #23. A few mentions (on Yelp) go back to 2009, saying it has been here 'forever', before the housing build up.

The long kitchen (under the menu board) has six flat top grills and an employee at each one. The drive through seems to move fast.

The Pancake Combo ($6.75) includes two (large) pancakes, three eggs (any style) and two sausage (or bacon). The pancakes are excellent; sweet and light with a thin crisp exterior. The sausage was good (skin on). Eggs perfectly cooked over easy.

There was a lot of bacon inside this breakfast sandwich ($6.25), even a piece on the exterior. Egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise: each bite perfect.

Douglas Burgers #23 18461 Dexter Avenue Lake Elsinore, CA 92532 (951)245-5441 Open Mon-Sat 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 7 a.m.-10 p.m.