Los Angeles County – Page 7

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests #1 and 2 and Cream Pan (Tustin), The Donut Man and Peppertree Cafe (Glendora)

August 6, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, What Cathy Eats!

Usually there are reasons as to why we stop and eat somewhere. Cathy is showing you some meals and snacks consumed while on the way to and from a regular event, as well as the event. Kirk is busy.

Other float road tests for the 2019 Parade: Road test #3, Road Tests #4/5 and Road Test #6.

I'll write about food in the first part of this post.

Wake at 4 a.m., leave the house at 5 a.m., drive North, exit at Red Hill Avenue. There's a Starbucks. Two lights North, take a left and there is Cream Pan.We hadn't been here since January Everything is fresh (Cream Pan opens at 6 a.m.) and wonderful here. Ham and cheese baked in a croissant ($2.60) (a common order wherever I go) and, of course, a strawberry croissant ($1.50). We also purchased some raisin rolls ($3) for later snacks.

Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 (714)655-8239 Website 6 am-7pm daily

Glendora, East of Irwindale and 'on the way home'/Route 66. I've written a short combination-post then a specific post about The Donut Man, a Glendora treasure. It is indeed 'Peach Donut Season'. This was the line before 9 a.m.. This walk up donut shop is almost always open. It's easy; the line starts to the left in the photo.
Check out the donuts in the window,
order and pay. Done.
The fresh peach donut ($4.50) and a Tiger Tail ($1.95) were all we wanted…this time. Fresh peach has been out Since July 21 and usually are only available for three or so weeks a year. So good. So fresh.

The Donut Man 915 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA 91740 (626) 335-9111 Open 24 hours, closed some holiday weekends. Website

Just across the street and East (into the sun) from Donut Man, Is the Peppertree Cafe.

Located in Glendora more than 20 years, this Family Style restaurant can get very crowded on weekends. Fortunately we were here before 9 a.m..

My order from the whiteboard at the front- Grilled Club Sausage links with two eggs and two sides ($9.99). The "sides" to select from were plenty: not only toast, hash browns and O'Brien potatoes, but french fries, biscuits and gravy, refried beans, tortillas, cottage cheese, fresh fruit, cup of oatmeal, one pancake, peach halves, pineapple, sliced banana, sliced tomatoes or a baked muffin. As you can see, I chose a single pancake and the sliced tomatoes. This was wonderful. The Club Sausage links were *so good*- skin on, coarse grind, a good spice blend.

The Mister ordered the Chicken Fried Steak ($9.99) and chose cottage cheese and fresh fruit as his sides. This huge serving (there are three large eggs included along with two sides) really hit the spot. The 'crust' on the fried steak was right on the edge of being burned by about ten seconds, but managed to turn out quite perfect and amazing. If we lived closer, Peppertree Cafe would be a regular stop.

Peppertree Cafe 1020 E. Route 66 Glendora, CA 91740 Website Sun-Thurs 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri-Sat 6a.m.-10 p.m.

Now, the reason we were 'up north'…

In mid-January, the Theme (with banner design) and President of the 2019 Tournament of Roses were announced. Float designs were submitted, reviewed, accepted and float building began. In June and July, The Mister and I drove to Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale to view some of the floats undergoing testing of safety and maneuverability.
The theme for 2019 is "The Melody of Life". Each float will have a reference to music in some shape or form on each float. "Service Rocks" the 2019 Rotary International float, looks to be a reference to the song 'Crocodile Rock', with the crocodile playing a keyboard and wearing heart shaped (Elton John-style) glasses.
Kiwanis International float is a Jukebox and will have an Elvis impersonator onboard. The 2019 float title is "Helping Kids Rock Their Future"; a great way of combining the theme of the parade with the goal of this Service Organization.

The International Order of Oddfellows and Rebekahs 2019 float, "200 years of Harmony" is commemorating the longevity of this Service Organization in North America. The calliope as the music source on this float should be fun!
"Joy To The World, The Lord Is Come" is the 2019 entry by the Lutheran Hour Ministries. This will be the 69th year for the only Christian themed float in the parade, decorated by about 5000 "Petal Pushers" volunteers who also assist with decorating other Service floats. The 'music' portion of this float will be performed by a choir. Of course.
A month ago, the Lions Clubs International float, "Rockin The Vest", was rebar, plywood and screening.
The other day, it was in a 'cocoon' and will be colored in for the testing next month. The title "Rockin' The Vest" is in reference to the yellow vests which Lions Clubs International members wear when volunteering (Lions Club is the world's largest Community Service Organization) AND it is also in reference to a 2011 'Rap' video, 'Rockin' The Vest', a fun music video designed to appeal to younger potential members. So fitting in this 2019 theme of 'The Melody of Life'. That's a boom box on the back of the car.

There were more floats tested, you'll see progress next month.

Roadtrip – Xiang Yuan Gourmet (Temple City)

March 11, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Xiang Yuan has closed

**** Xiang Yuan no longer serves Dim Sum

We had one stop to plan on our way back from Santa Barbara last year. The Missus really wanted dim sum. And naturally, Sea Harbour came to mind. But I wanted to try something different. And after showing the Missus a couple of blog posts, I talked Her into stopping at Xiang Yuan Gourmet. The Missus was somewhat skeptical since "Xiang" basically means Hunan.

Still we made the drive to Temple City, to a portion of Las Tunas Drive that I don't think I've ever been to.

The restaurant is clean and modern and was totally empty during our entire visit.

The service was quite good…..and very efficient, though I guess being the only customers might not be the best gauge of that. It seems that the menu serves dim sum during the day, with the Hunan menu coming into play for dinner.

The menu did indeed feature some interesting nouveau style dim sum items.

We ordered some of our favorites, along with some interesting items I'd seen on other blog posts.

Crystal Shrimp Har Gow.

The shrimp were very moist and plump, with a nice "shrimpiness". The wrapper was a bit too think for my liking. I think that the version at Sea Harbour is better than this.

We both enjoyed the nice "pull" of the wrappers on the Vegetarian Dumplings.

The filling had a nice combination of textures and was pretty tasty overall. Surprising for a vegetable based dumpling.

I usually enjoy Chiu Chow Dumplings and this was no exception.

The wrappers, while on the thick side, weren't too gummy, the ingredients, peanuts, chives, mushroom, shrimp, all worked together well. Very balanced.

We also ordered this….

To translate, least you think we're one "k" away from skunk. Bean Curd Skin Roll with Cordyceps Flower.

The broth was delicious, and not overly medicinal. The bean curd skin was nice and crunchy, though the roll was on the bland side.

Turnip Cake is a must order item for the Missus.

Nicely studded with Chinese Sausage, this was very soft. It doesn't hold a candle to the version with XO Sauce at Sea Harbour. The Missus said that She enjoys what I make at home more than this.

The last three items that came out were the one's we were really interested in trying.

The Mushroom Bun……really looks like a mushroom.

The dough was a perfect combination of soft-fluffy, while still having a slight chew and not overly sweet. The filling of mushroom and bamboo shoots had a perfect savory flavor, with just the right amount of crunch from the bamboo shoots and carrots, which added a touch of sweetness as well. My favorite item of the day.

The Crispy Bamboo Shoot Paste Balls really make an impression.

They arrive looking like carrots….I'm not sure why, there's no carrot in this. The exterior is said to be made from bamboo shoot paste, which reminded me of exterior of glutinous rice dumplings. It was overly sweet and chewy for our tastes and the amount of salted egg filling just didn't stand up to the sweetness.

Ever since first having Durian Pastry almost eleven years ago at Elite Restaurant, I always have to try it if it's on the menu. The version here is quite nice, if not as visually appealing as the previous two dishes.

The crust is fairly light, the filling thicker than other versions, but very tasty and not too sweet. As a bonus there's a slice of durian along one edge of the pastry. Very nice in a mildly savory-not overly sweet-custardy kind of way. I'd gladly have this again. Another winner.

The Missus really enjoy this meal. In fact, She told me that we should return as soon as we are able to.

In fact, She told me that "this might now be my favorite dim sum restaurant". I'm not sure. I think I still prefer Sea Harbour. I'm going to need several revisits to both. You know; for research purposes……

Xiang Yuan Gourmet
9556 Las Tunas Dr
Temple City, CA 91780

Roadtrip – Revisits to Qing Dao Bread Food (Monterey Park), Kang Lac Bakery, Lien Hoa, and Song Long (Westminster)

January 13, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

Whew; I need to catch up on all my posts! Since I've posted on these places a multitude of times; I'll keep it shirt and sweet.

This one is from back in August of last year. Basically, I had an all day meeting in Irvine. The Missus had the following day and night off; so we decided to stay in the area. We started things off well by having dinner at Sushi Noguchi in Yorba Linda (sorry no post on that one….next time). The next day after my meetings we headed off to dinner and was kind of unimpressed with Sichuan Impression in Alhambra. In fact we basically ate maybe half of what we ordered. Our hotel had a fridge, so I'd end up taking stuff back and then home.

Being somewhat disappointed in driving all this way, we decided to make a short stop. The Missus was really missing good jiaozi, so we decided to make a stop at….

Qing Dao Bread Food:

Man, it's been a good long time since we've been here.

The place is starting to look even more run down and the folks working a bit older. Though it's fun to get a smile out of the Missus when She hears the "Qingdao Hua"; the accent of Her hometown.

Two orders for us. The lamb versin; which doesn't have as much "soup" as before; but is still very gamey. And the vegetarian, which on this occasion was really good. The wrappers were nice; with that pillowy-pull to them.

The Missus had really been missing jiaozi it seems as She put these down in no time.

There was one rather sad moment during our meal. It was when the traditional garlic condiment came out. I've called this the Missus's "little dish of memories". Her job when She was a child in Qingdao was to pound the garlic for jiaozi in a mortar and pestle. Something She used to hate, but now loves…..in fact She did it with such relish the last time we were in Qingdao. Looks like they now put the garlic in a blender….very sad; because you really get the most flavor out of the garlic when you pound it; you release all the oils…..this really didn't have the "umph" we were used to. Perhaps the folks here have gotten old and tired of pounding garlic.

Qing Dao Bread Food
301 North Garfield Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91754

The next morning, we got up rather early. Instead of just hanging out at the hotel until check-out and heading off to Sea Harbour, we decided to check out early and just do the usual two-fer of Lien Hoa and Song Long. We hit a snag as when we arrived at Lien Hoa; the place wasn't open yet. I had an idea. You see, years ago, "Beach" took me to the place right over in the next parking lot for a snack…..

Kang Lac Bakery:

The Missus had never had the Bot Chien here and it was right next door to Lien Hoa. So why not?

Radish and Taro cakes coated in crisp egg.

Man, that sauce is still good!

Tea for the Missus, some Vietnamese Coffee for me. The cost was like ten bucks. A very nice start to our morning.

Kang Lac Bakery
9301 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, CA 92683

By now…..

Lien Hoa:

Was open.

And I got our roast duck; which I've posted on a number of times.

Lien Hoa BBQ
9311 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683

And then it was time for "our real breakfast"……

Song Long:

Ever since "Kha" recommended this place to us years ago; it's become a real favorite of ours.

And I have to say; it's still a big favorite. Hmm……maybe we have some time next weekend?

Song Long Restaurant
9361 Bolsa Ave Suite 108
Westminster, CA 92683

Thanks for stopping by!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There were little details on every float…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We purchased some sweets for cc and for ourselves.

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

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

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

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

The theme of the 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On to the food portion of this blog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phoenix Decorating Company Website

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

Farmer Boys Website

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We weren't done:

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

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

A wonderful meal on a beautiful day.

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

Szechuan Impression (Alhambra)

September 4, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

So, work has me going up to Irvine occasionally these days. It makes for a long drive, so recently, I had sessions all day and the Missus was off, we decided to head up and spend the night. I had wanted to stay in our old 'hood, Hacienda Heights, but the Missus wanted to be fairly close to my location so She wouldn't have to drive far to drop me off and then could do whatever She wanted. turns out She'd been working so hard and slept thru my texts when all my meetings were over. So I ended up having a nice 2 1/2 mile walk to the hotel. Which wasn't too bad; though it was pretty hot on Chapman.

And things seemed a bit seedy as well….I kind of stood out walking up the street and two different guys asked me if I was interested in "stuff". Strange.

Anyway, I got back to the hotel and we headed off for dinner. The Missus was really missing good Chinese food, specifically Sichuan. My first thought was a visit to Chengdu Taste, but since I'd recently checked out the Rowland Heights location, I thought we should visit Szechuan Impression, which has been creating quite buzz since opening a few years back. Yes, it's been that long since both the Missus and I have been able to take our time visiting our old stomping grounds. And yes, we've really missed the food in the SGV….but really haven't missed the traffic. A whopping 75 minutes from Garden Grove to Alhambra, without an accident to be seen.

I had actually planned well for this as we arrived right before Sichuan Impression opened.

This restaurant is on the small side; though there seems to be outdoor seating. Like the nice clean and well lit interior. We also enjoyed the rather professional service….we watched a couple come in with a young boy and the Server actually brought a little child's bowl for him.

We decided on a couple dishes from the menu. I love Sichuan Liang Mian, but have struggled to find anything like the version at Ba Ren, which closed in 2012. So, I had to order that here, since I'd heard good things about this version.

This was a disappointment. The sauce wasn't bad; though it was spicy enough, not enough vinegar tones, not enough sweet, not enough garlic….not enough. The noodles were a disaster; really hard and crumbly, with no "pull" at all.

Of course we had to have the Toothpick Lamb, which was better than what I had at Chengdu Taste in Rowland Heights.

The meat had been cooked at least twice, since the interior was pleasantly toothsome, which indicates some sort of braise and the exterior light and crisp. Good amount of cumin going on; with some spice, and a touch of the Sichuan Peppercorn signature numbing effect. I appreciated the cilantro, still don't enjoy the toothpicks, and the Missus wanted a bit more salt on this.

I miss the winey-porky-slightly sweet Chinese style sausages that Missus grew up eating in China. The closest facsimile we've had in the states had been at QingDao Bread. It was pretty hot out; so I ordered the "Impressive Sausage".

I enjoyed these a lot; nice cured pork flavor, decent wine, nice heat. The texture was a bit on the crumbly versus the nice waxy side and it wasn't salty enough. There was a smokey component to this that was seemed strangely reminiscent of paprika to me. The Missus wasn't going for this; as Her "Northern Sausage genes" kicked in….not enough wine, no sweetness, not salty enough, wrong texture. Still, I really liked this.

I didn't care for the Mapo Tofu.

There seemed to be a rather medicinal taste to this dish that was somewhat off-putting to me. It hit the Missus as well, but the more She ate it the more She enjoyed this. Loved the texture of the tofu; good "ma" (numbing), but not enough "la" (heat).

As we ate, we noticed that all the customers, save the couple with the young child, coming in were young. It seems that this is the new wave of Chinese regional restaurants, catering to the younger, "hipper" crowd of Chinese. The dishes aren't as salty, use less oil, and isn't quite a spicy. The Missus and I enjoyed the portion sizes as it seems that trend of "quantity over quality" is coming to an end. Cuisine isn't like the Mona Lisa, it's not a moment caught in time, it is constantly shifting. Though our meals are moments caught in time and we keep reaching for that moment…….and to be honest; for now I prefer the more traditional.

So, as it seems that another trip to China is not in the works; I'll keep searching for some good Sichuan Liang Mian.

Szechuan Impression
1900 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706 Website

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

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

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

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