Markets & Grocers – Page 17

Eating inside Mitsuwa Marketplace

February 17, 2016 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog you are reading, has posts alternately written by Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy. Kirk wrote most of the posts you read this year, then he went on vacation. Cathy and Ed have been posting in the interim.

A few months ago, Kirk wrote a post about one of the restaurants in the Food Court at Mitsuwa Market. It so happened I had also been to Musashiya that week and had a (blurry) photo of my meal. A few weeks later, I had occasion to return and then a few weeks after that, The Mister and I returned. Each meal was small and I figure if any of you came here with someone else, you don't have to order food at the same place, just like at a Food Court.

Looking forward when walking in, the grocery store is directly in front of you. Directly to your left are Santuoka and Musashiya. (Directly to your right used to be Matcha Love, a great place for tart ice creams, but it is gone).
Each has a large display of plastic food replicas, making ordering simplified (or overwhelming in my case); some people point at what they would like to eat, as they do with a Denny's menu. I digress.Musashiya, owned by Mitsuwa, (similar to the way Seafood City owns Grill City locations inside the Food Court areas inside their stores) has several meals which are less than $10. This one is chicken teriyaki. They make the sauce from scratch and it isn't too sweet nor is it salty. Just enough. Everything you see comes with it: the potato salad, sliced cabbage, pickles, miso, rice and in the bottom right corner, a piece of tamagoyaki, a layered omelet made with rice vinegar and sugar, which I consider 'dessert'.Santuoka also has a variety of primarily ramen choices for under $10 (the small and regular sizes; the large is closer to $12)( flavors of broth offered are shio, shoyu, miso and spicy miso) and on this (rainy) day, I chose a small bowl of shoyu ramen. The broth flavor is rich and satisfying and the noodles have a good 'tooth'. Eventually there was a day when The Mister could join me and we stepped inside the Marketplace. On the right side there are prepared boxes of meals, along with a microwave if you plan on eating in the food court after paying. There are also two islands of prepared meals and desserts.There is also this fascinating machine (which wasn't working the last two times I was there) that has push button ease (and toppings on the pans to the right) for some instant miso.Eventually we agreed on the above purchases- chicken karaage, Japanese potato salad, seaweed (all sold by the pound) and a chirashizushi bowl (on top of sushi rice) ($8) and a can of hot tea ($1.29). Heated tea cans, as well as refrigerated ones are inside one beautifully designed appliance, also against that right wall.

All in all, a great place to be able to order what you want.

Mitsuwa Marketplace 4240 Kearney Mesa Road San Diego 92111 Mitsuwa website Santuoka Website Musashiya website

Some Shopping: Bluegrass Soy Sauce at Catalina Offshore, Balistreri Salumi at Trader Joe’s, and Some “Beery” Stuffs

January 28, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Markets & Grocers

Bluegrass Soy Sauce and other stuffs at Catalina Offshore:

I don't get to Catalina Offshore quite as often during winter months, so I was surprised to find Bluegrass Soy Sauce on a recent visit. I know Catalina has been bolstering their retail sales floor; I regularly buy Salt Farm's Ghost Pepper Salt from there, but was really pleasantly surprised to find Bluegrass Soy Sauce. If you've never tried the stuff, check it out; deep flavors, a hint of sweet, perhaps a bit more salty….no don't use it in a marinade….try it on some tofu. From what I've read, Kentucky non-GMO soybeans are highly prized for miso and soy sauce makers in Japan.

There's now a bunch of other stuff as well.

It was great browsing around….even if Mr Grumpy….ummmm, Tommy wasn't around to entertain me on this day.

Catalina Offshore Products
5202 Lovelock St.
San Diego, CA 92110

The Missus shops at Trader Joe's a lot. In fact, this might be the one place She'll go on Her own……everywhere else….I do the shopping. That is, so long it's a familiar TJ's. She has problems with unfamiliar set-ups and it drives Her nuts. It has to be the same Target, the Sprouts…..you know what I mean? Rite Aid in our neighborhood did some redesign. Five minutes after entering the place, She had to leave….couldn't find anything was the issue. The new PB location was a challenge at first, but She's gotten used to the set-up……I recently went along….if I go to TJ's it's usually on the weekend and I'm on a Mission. This time, while the Missus went and got Her stuffs, I had a chance to browse and I found this.

Good stuff! I've seen this local line of salumi at Siesel's and Venissimo, but here at TJ's it was $4.99. Makes for a nice addition during the last two days when the weather has been more April than January.

I know, it's usually Kirbie that gives us updates on this stuff.

My current favorite beer? Paris of the West by Almanac.

While much lighter than most Quads, which I think is rather misleading, I like the balance of stone fruit, sweet, mild hops, with a nice earthiness, this is so drinkable and balanced for my taste. Even the Missus likes it with blue and washed rind cheese.

Just to show you, I can be sucked in by "cute" labels.

And this was an interesting one for me.

Not quite sure what to think……..it was indeed briney and the tart flavor combined with that was interesting to say the least. Wasn't quite sour enough for me. Still, it's great to have such an interesting beer.

San Sebastian: Brexta Market, Aitor Lasa, and Galpasoro

January 15, 2016 mmm-yoso Basque Country - Spain and France, Markets & Grocers, Spain, Travel

We love exploring public markets whenever we travel. We were just a block away from Brexta Public Market, so we were obviously going to pay them a visit. Along the side of the two large market buildings have been turned into a shopping center……

There's a nice produce "market" set-up alongside the buildings.

And heading down below the shopping center…..

You'll find a wonderful meat and fish market, with tons of stalls. The selection is quite amazing, especially the various charcuterie, cheese, and cuts of meat. You could literally spend and hour or more just wandering around. There are prepared food stalls and vendors selling all sorts of Basque food items.

We soon left the market however, as the Missus wanted to check out places out side of the Old Town. So we headed out. Past the statue of the Drummer and the Plaque with the lyrics to La Marcha de San Sebastian, which I was told is San Sebastian's City Anthem. Each January 20th marks Tamboradda in the city. From midnight on the 19th to midnight on the 20th drums pound constantly and there's….well, a party of course, which lasts (gasp) 24 hours! It must be quite and event.

As we expected; San Sebastian Centro is different from the Old Town. But, there was still an old world charm; just with more coffee shops, and some nice, upscale, shopping. We enjoyed just meandering up Calle de Urbieta, first taking a short break for a cup of coffee. Before arriving at the impressive Catedral del Buen Pastor de San Sebastián (Cathedral of the Good Shepherd). The Basilica of Santa Maria del Coro lies almost directly across from the Cathedral. It is said that you can even see the doors of the Cathedral from the stairs of the Basilica.

We took a walk inside the massive cathedral which was rather austere. It was very quiet in contrast to the busy traffic on the street outside.

Leaving the cathedral, we headed back to the Old Town. Of course the subject of lunch came out. We were getting hungry and it was still early. So we decided to self cater. I'd read about a market named Aitor Lasa right across the street from Brexta Market.

The rather tiny little market stocked a nice variety of cheese and charcuterie.

And we ended up purchasing some cheese, head cheese, eggs, and chorizo.

While paying for our groceries, we noticed some beautiful mushrooms. One especially caught my eye since I'd never seen it before.

The mushrooms are displayed in the top right of the photo above. I was told they were "cepes"……fresh porcinis! How could I not get a few? With all of this, bread was a must, so we asked the woman working the produce. At first she tried to sell us the bread stocked at the store. But soon enough, she wrote down the name of a place and drew a dot on my nap.

We loved the folks working here.

Aitor Lasa
Aldamar Kalea 12
San Sebastian, Spain

Next we decided to head back down the stairs of Brexta Market and head for a stand that had caught our attention during our earlier visit.

The gentleman behind the counter was so friendly, handing out samples to everyone. We had decided to taste some of the olive oils for sale and decided to get a very nice Arbequina Olive Oil; mildly grassy with a nice pepperiness to it. We also got some olives; sin sel….light on the salt. The olive was perfect; we finished the last of it in Bordeaux right before flying back to Madrid.

We also headed off to the fish market portion of the market which we had skipped earlier.

We loved the displays….some of them seemed artistic and somewhat whimsical to us. What do you think?

We then headed back upstairs and off to getting some bread.

The shop was located right on Calle Mayor. We'd passed it a couple of times, but never even noticed it. There was no missing it on this morning. Check out the line!

So we stood in line and eventually got our bread. It was quite good; perhaps not on the level of what we had in Bordeaux, but it sure did well for lunch.

Galparsoro Okindegia
Calle Mayor 6
San Sebastian, Spain

And while the kitchen wasn't too well stocked; luckily I had the olive oil. There was salt, pepper, and also some red wine vinegar. Still, this was so good! The Missus still mentions the earthy, yet mellow flavor of these. It turned out to be a nice, simple spread. Quick with minimal prep and clean-up.

After I cleaned up, it was time for a short nap……

Midweek Meanderings: (Blue) Korea House Becoming Prime Grill, Another 99 Ranch Market Opening in Kearny Mesa, and Mama’s Grill Closes

January 13, 2016 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

Some openings and closings for hump day.

(Blue) Korea House is Becoming Prime Grill:

At least that's what the posted piece of paper says. You really couldn't miss seeing the façade for Korea House was gone. So we'll see about this one…here's hoping for some stellar Korean BBQ – I'll ping my sources to get more info. With this parking lot, it'll take some really good food to draw people in…here's hoping for the best.

4620 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

The Former Albertsons (and Haggen) is Becoming 99 Ranch Market:

I really couldn't put Haggen there, because it was only open for such a short time. According to Eater San Diego, it's now going to be 99 Ranch Market! So we'll have two locations within a couple of miles?

Actually, I'd love a Gelson's; but figured the area would be the wrong demographic. And BTW "CC", there's supposed to be a 99 Ranch Market coming to 505 Telegraph Canyon Road as well. I'm sure welcomed news for our friends in the South Bay.

5950 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

Mama's Grill has closed:

I was planning on doing a sandwich follow-up on a couple of places in Clairemont/Kearny Mesa, so I dropped by Mama's Grill and found the place stripped down and closed.

I thought they made a decent sandwich, but I guess they couldn't keep up with all the other fast and not-so-fast food places in the strip mall.

7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2015 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

Well, it's another one in the books!

Another New Year's eve, another morning trip to Mitsuwa, Nijiya, and Marukai to check out the Osechi. While the selections have dwindled, I basically do the same thing I've done my first New Year post.

This year, Mitsuwa seemed to have the best and most interesting selection, though these days, there's a lot of preordering going on.

Mitsuwa
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Nijiya has always taken top spot for Osechi, until this year. The selection was less diverse and I actually heard two older couples actually pick something up and then put it back saying that it was too expensive and not worth the price.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Marukai hardly had anything.

Still, it was nice seeing this sign in front of some products of Hogetsu Bakery.

If memory serves me right, this is Hogetsu's 42nd year of business. Hmm….back in 2011, the Takeda's told me that they didn't even own a computer, I wonder if they have one now. I need to get back down there and check.

Marukai Market
8151 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

This New Year, the Missus requested that I restock our duck confit. Instead of Nishime She wants Cassoulet. So it's making a batch of duck confit tonight, the cassoulet tomorrow. Of course I'm having my traditional soba tonight and since there were some great prices on items when I went shopping this morning, I'll do a couple of nimono items as well.

As we turn the page on another year, the gang here at mmm-yoso would like to wish everyone a safe, healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year!

Yuma’s Asian Store

December 12, 2015 ed fromyuma Markets & Grocers, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Tomorrow this food blog will have an outstanding post by Kirk or Cathy. But they are taking today off so Ed (from Yuma) – who has lots of days off – can write about a little grocery.

About 10 years ago, Kirk came over to Yuma and spent a couple days looking around and taco trucking. While in town, I showed him The Oriental Gift Shop that sells a wide variety of Asian trinkets and wigs and has a cooler and freezer in the back with kimchi and other mostly Korean specialties. A few shelves in that part of the shop offer rices, sauces, spices, and marinades. Kirk called it the 49.5 market, but as far as foodstuffs, it is a 9.9 ranch market at best (still my go to place for kimchi, however).

So I am delighted that Asian Store (not to be confused with Asian Star) now exists in town. From the back of the parking lot at Eddie's Grill, you can get an idea of its general location:

If you look along this strip mall that parallels Catalina Dr, past the location that was once a Staples, past the Dollar Tree, and beyond the Salvation Army thrift store, you will eventually find Asian Store right next to a Little Caesars:

The nondescript market has four aisles. The one on the far right has the carbohydrates. A large supply of various Asian rices:

Look for dried seaweed above the sushi rice:

Across from the rices are the noodles:

Along with such specialties as bean thread vermicelli, an amazing array of Cantonese style noodles:

And I have fallen in love with Thai rice sticks, which add a whole new dimension to my gringo stirfries:

The next aisle contains a miscellaneous assortment:

An area of canned goods including bamboo shoots:

and large jars of sour bamboo shoots:

You can also find sauce packets and spice mixes: soup bases and spices:

Thai curry pastes:

and Hawaiian spicy chicken seasoning:

The other side of the aisle displays many different teas – Japanese:

or Jasmine if you prefer:

That side also has dried beans and Panko:

The next aisle displays bottled and jarred condiments and sauces on one side and a huge variety of snacks on the other:

You can buy a bag of fried pork skins:

or roasted green peas:

Across the aisle, Kirk could find his Aloha soy or teriyaki sauce:

or pungent shrimp sauce:

Of course there's Sriracha:

an entire area of various vinegars:

and such specialties as Pad Thai Sauce (which is pretty good):

At the backend of that aisle you can find some fresh produce that doesn't need refrigeration, like kabocha squash, lemons, and these shallots (only $1.19 a bag):

Which leads me to my favorite part of the store, the refrigerated produce area at the back of the westernmost aisle. Shelves full of choys:

Or long beans, bitter melon, eggplants:

Or mushrooms:

including my favorite king oyster mushrooms:

Fresh papaya strips, ready to be turned into a salad:

And if you want that salad spicy, plenty of Thai chilies:

And don't forget the time-saving peeled fresh garlic cloves:

Between the fresh foods and the front of the market are shelves filled with frozen goods:

I spend less time in this area, but you can find a wide range of frozen product. Like mochi sherbet or ice cream:

frozen quail:

beef blood:

or even pork paste or fish paste (?):

Though I am puzzled or confused by some of the items for sale, you can understand why I am delighted to shop in a market like Asian Store. Their prices are very competitive and sometimes better than Fry’s or Albertsons. The produce is fresh, seasonal, and various. In so many ways, this little grocery makes me a better and more adventurous cook. And that makes both Tina and me happy.

Fried Skins- Chicharrones of the land, air and sea.

November 28, 2015 Cathy Filipino Restaurants, Markets & Grocers, Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, food blog. Today, Cathy is writing a short post, not about any particular restaurant, but about some particular food items. Ed (from Yuma) has a nice post coming up tomorrow. Kirk is still out of the country and enjoying his international vacationing.

In 2011, Kirk wrote a great post about fried animal skins, quite a few were -ahem- less than common and difficult to find unless traveling internationally. I thought that writing a short post about commonly found chicharron would be nice. Dropping into any Mexican Market, you can probably find a variety of both pork and beef fried skins, some with meat attached (the far left) and some just the skin (second from left). Those are sold by the pound and can simply be eaten while wrapped in a corn tortilla, with or without some hot sauce.

The above is the counter at Northgate Gonzalez, a family owned and run Mexican grocery chain which I haven't posted about yet. Sometimes, in this same Mexican Markets, there is a steam tray area with stews and there is usually a choice of rojo (red) or verde (green) chicharron stews called guisados, which can be served taco style. Because the fried skins have been stewing, they are softened and not crispy, but still flavorful. The above are from Krist Liquor and Market. You can always order fresh made chicharrones by the 1/2 pound at Carnitas Uruapan.Long ago, I had mentioned fried chicken skin, dilis and bulaklak sold by the pound at Kababayan Market, which is now located in Spring Valley (I'll have a post about the new location soon).Fried chicken skins are my weakness and backup snack for just about every situation. I have also mentioned purchasing fried chicken skins at Chic-Boy in National City, because I know where to find fried skins when the craving strikes. Then there was the day we were at TJ Oyster Bar and I noticed the 'Starters' section of the menu while waiting in line at the newest location (again, I have a post forthcoming)…the second item, 'Chicharron Fish'.Hoping it would be a plate of these (above) fried fish tails, I was disappointed to see…this gigantic plate of more or less fish nuggets. But, oh what wonderful, meaty, lightly breaded nicely fried nuggets these were. The dipping sauce- umami- a deep, fishy, tart, lime-vinegar mix which went perfectly with the sliced raw onions. Not really skins, but fried and tasty.

I hope your long weekend is going well. It's not over!

Harvest International Market- Eat in the store (Clairmont)

November 23, 2015 Cathy Markets & Grocers, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy write most of the posts here. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both busy this week before Thanksgiving and Cathy is not busy.

The building on the North East corner of Balboa at Clairmont Drive had finally opened in early 2013, as another location of North Park Produce. Then it closed. Harvest International Market opened in its place. There is another location of Harvest closer to home, in El Cajon, but it's smaller (used to be a 99 Cents Only store) and there is no eat in area, but a nice 'grab and go' selection. Harvest has some tables and chairs inside the store and out in front.When you walk in the door, to your right is the bakery, deli and kitchen. There is also a cash register there, so you can order and pay. The hot tea is always brewing next to the baklava area (to the left when you walk in).The by the pound area has a vast selection of premade salads, olives and cheeses, all sold by the pound. There's also a good variety of flatbreads and small loaves to choose from. That white stuff? It's a saltier version of Kirk's garlic sauce and quite heavenly. The other items are baba ganoge (eggplant dip) and shirazi salad (cucumber, tomato, onion, parsley and mint mixed with olive oil and lemon juice) all very fresh and very good with the flatbread seen beneath ($1).

I purchase the yogurt based beverages from the vast selection in the back corner store refrigerators.

There is also a good selection of daily soups; I've tried most by pointing at the selection behind the glass counter. Some are tomato based, others are cream based. The above one had spinach and garbanzo beans, was in a creamy chicken based broth and was topped with crispy onion. The bowl was $3.The beef shawarma plate ($7.99) comes with a salad and basmati rice. There is a lot of everything and any of the plates can be shared. On this visit, the shawarma tasted dry on its own and the tzatziki sauce was needed; I usually don't have to add any. It was very flavorfully seasoned and the next day, I heated the meat up and mixed it into scrambled eggs for breakfast and no additional seasoning was needed. There was a sign that beef or chicken kabobs were five for $10 and we asked and ordered just one of each at the $2 each price. Both kabobs were flavorful and very large. It was nice they gave us two roasted tomatoes on the plate…so much nicer than a sprig of parsley. Next to the shawarma spinning upright rotisseries is a third rotisserie with gyros meat. This platter was also $7.99 and when we asked if it came with pita bread, the lady told us to grab one out of the bread box near the front. It's a really good bread topped with sesame seeds. We also were given a choice of specialty rice, and asked for 'the green one', as there were eight different rices in view.

After some research, I found the rice choices are basmati with other primary ingredients: Zereshk Polo (barberry), Baghali Polo (Persian dill with lima beans), Shirin Polo (orange and carrots), Albaloo Polo (sour cherry), Adas Polo (lentils), Lubia Polo (green beans), Biryani (spices and meat mixed in) and Aloo Polo (dried plums).

All in all, we've enjoyed exploring the deli counter and trying various offerings before we go shopping in the store. It's a pretty standard Mediterranean Market with halal meats and some seafood and interesting cookies, sauces, teas and coffees as well as ice cream and snack offerings.

Harvest International Market 4220 Balboa Avenue San Diego 92111 (858) 810-8228 open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily Website

Tip Top Meats, again – The restaurant (Carlsbad)

November 22, 2015 Cathy German Restaurants and Food, Markets & Grocers, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! during this short week before Thanksgiving. Kirk is still vacationing and Ed (from Yuma) is enjoying the week before a holiday without having to rush and finish up things at work so Cathy is writing.

There has been a birthday breakfast post, an ordinary breakfast post, a lunch (sandwich and a steak and stein) post so now I will write about some more lunches and a dinner choice that's only available on Friday/Saturday/Sunday after 4 p.m., thereby still not covering even half of the menu available at this wonderful German Meat Market in store restaurant which has been in Carlsbad since 1977.Here's a photo of the actual entrance door into the market area, instead of the the side parking lot photos in all the other posts. The restaurant is to the far left as you walk in. Lentil, vegetable beef, beef barley or oxtail soups are some of the daily three usual choices. We tend to order the soups instead of salads here, because the salads are ordinary and served with a packet of dressing you squeeze on yourself…the soups are made fresh daily. The Lamb Chop meal ($9.99) is listed on the 'other' side of the menu board (which is above and on the way toward the cash register). Some people miss that other side of the menu board, although I've noticed the paper to go menus are stacked so that people can grab and read while waiting to order and pay.

The lamb chops? Excellent, beautifully grilled to a barely medium; tender, juicy and flavorful. Sides are the soup, mashed with gravy, a dinner roll and both red and regular sauerkraut (red kraut is sweet, the white kraut is more stringent (vinegar based) and has pieces of ham or bacon in it). There's a 'Cold Sandwich' menu board as well as a 'Hot Sandwich' menu board. Pretty much all the sandwiches are $8.99. So, the above pork cutlet sandwich was my choice one day; tender grilled pork cutlet on a fresh toasted roll with lettuce, tomato and grilled onion. I chose German potato salad as my side-it sort of reminds me of a smashed up baked potato (probably because of the bacon bits along with the fact that it is a warm potato salad).Year round, an Oktoberfest Plate is available ($8.99) Three grilled sausages: Polish, Knackwurst and Bratwurst along with German potato salad, kraut and red cabbage and a roll. The sausages are made fresh in the store and have a wonderful mix of seasonings and fresh flavors.Then there is my craving-stuffed cabbage ($9.49) a giant cabbage leaf stuffed with lean meatloaf then baked. It's topped with some sour cream and a tomato slice (excellent flavor, texture and temperature contrasts) and soup or salad, a sweet pickle slice, dinner roll and choice of cabbage…which I can never choose between, so I get both.Looking up at the menu on the wall/ceiling, both the Steak and Stein and 'Special Steak' Dinners have been 'special occasion' meals. My brother was visiting last month and we drove up to Tip Top and had a little feast for about $15 a person. Each us did choose a soup (two vegetable soups and one oxtail soup, which is pretty much a rich gravy rather than soupy), The Mister had chosen a Steak and Stein meal- so that's his stein (it was a tangerine wheat beer).The Mister's New York Strip ($14.98, including the stein of beer). It was topped with the grilled onions (which I received unceremoniously on my plate right after photos were taken) and His chosen sides of a baked potato and broccoli, along with a slice of sweet pickle and a roll. Look at the menu sign again, bottom right- Special Steak Dinner. Choose a steak, pay for it and it will be cooked for you…add $4.98 to get all the sides. Choosing the filet mignon size and marble he wanted, my brother's choice still ended up costing around $10 (the filet is $24/lb) plus the $4.98, but he did get exactly what he wanted, and the butcher gives you a selection of seasoning to put on the filet. (The Steak and Stein filet choice is probably smaller.) While waiting in line (all those people are in front of us waiting to order and pay). Notice the menu board ahead to the right above the refrigerated pastry case. {It's the third menu board from the left; those two are the breakfast menu}.

"Prime Rib Roast $14.98 From 4:30 – 8 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only
A massive portion of prime rib served with mash potatoes and gravy, baked potato or french fries, red cabbage, sauerkraut or broccoli, soup or salad and a dinner roll".The first time that The Mister and I came to Tip Top Meats, the line was the same, the menu board was the same (except for the prices- the Prime Rib Roast was $4.98 then) and the food was almost the same; you also were given one rib bone on the plate back then.

This is a weekend evening only special and so very good. Yes, you are looking at two very thick slices of prime Prime rib plus everything else I usually choose for my plate.

I hope you have an organized, planned week ahead!

Tip Top Meats 6118 Paseo Norte Carlsbad, CA 92011 (760)438-2620 Open seven days 6 am-8 pm Website

A Daytrip to Nara and Lunch at Kuromon Ichiba (Osaka)

October 30, 2015 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Japan, Markets & Grocers, Osaka, Travel

I don't think a trip to Kyoto/Osaka would be complete without a short detour to Nara, once the capital of Japan.

It was a quick 45 minute train ride to JR Nara Station. From there, we decided to take a leisurely walk to Todai-ji.

It was a quiet and rather relaxing walk…… we passed an interesting looking "local-kine place" along the way.

We saw a branch of Ko Hi Kan Coffee along the way, so we decided to stop and get our caffeine fix for the morning. Pour-over of course…..per the Missus.

The women working here were very friendly.

It was a nice cup(s) of coffee, which energized our rather tired bones for the walk.

It was just a short walk to the Nara Park area.

We ended up spending the most of our time in a couple of areas; the first being Kofuku-ji, once the temple of the Fujiwara-shi, once one of the most powerful families in Japan.

The Pagoda here was undergoing repairs when we visited; but the grounds were really quite beautiful….in a stark and spartan way.

We soon entered the heart of Nara Park; famous for their temples…and of course the aggressive deer. Actually, I found the deer here to be much more mellow than the super aggressive deer in Miyajima. Though you might have a different opinion if you've ever read Lynnea's post on Nara. That last photo in that post is still a favorite of mine.

Just in case you hadn't been informed of the risks of screwing around with the rather cute four-legged friends….there are signs that explain the possible hazards of messing around with them.

I believed that the biggest draw to Nara would be Tōdai-ji.

Based on the crowds that lines the Main Gate, I'd say that my statement is pretty much correct.

The Daibutsu-den, which houses the world's largest bronze rendering of Buddha is quite impressive.

The bronze Buddha which is also quite impressive at 49 feet tall and 92 feet across at the shoulders! This is a image of Dainichi Buddha, the "Celestial Buddha", the source from which all other Buddha's emanate.

There's a lot to see here. There are other statues, like the rather mencing and imposing looking Komokuten; Buddha's Guard who is stepping upon a demon, yet brandishing a scroll and brush, symbolizing both the power and wisdom of the Sutras over ignorance.

To the right of the Buddha sits Nyoirin Kannon.

In contrast to the rather scary and imposing Komokuten, the Nyoirin Kannon represents compassion and boundless love for all.

And, for those who want enlightenment…..you can try to pass through a hole in one of the pillars deemed Buddha's Nostril. Passing through the hole means that you be granted enlightenment….though I believe it doesn't happen until your next life. Plus, I read that it's only about 20 inches wide….the size of Buddha's nostrils…….better leave this to the one of the school kids; many of whom still struggled to get through.

It was fun watching all the school kids trying to pass through the hole….each one had a photo taken…proof that enlightenment will be bestowed upon them. Personally, I did gain a bit of enlightenment….but it happened in the form of the restroom sign. I learned the power of a single space…where Gentleman….became "Gentle Man". Now that's powerful, right?

Kids of all ages came to visit Tōdai-ji. This group of really young ones seemed so cute and charming. They were so little, that a few of them needed help going down the stairs.

And of course, they sell "senbei"…..crackers for the deer…which means every group of school kids became a feeding frenzy.

It was starting to get really crowded. Which meant it was time to "hele".

It definitely is a must see if you're in Kyoto or Osaka.

Initially, the plan was to have lunch in Nara, but we decided to head back to Osaka. Just a few blocks from the busy arcades of Dotonburi resides Kuromon Market.

Along with the numerous shops were countless food stalls, selling everything from live blowfish to Kobe Beef. And there was even a good sized supermarket in the middle of it all.

It was quite a variety. We then decided to just buy a couple of items and have lunch in the market.

It also wasn't easy deciding on what to get. We actually did a walkthrough of the entire market area before making our selections. It was hard resisting all the Kobe beef….especially since you could "burn your meat after ordering"….

In the end I chose some really nice toro from one of the market stalls. The woman sliced everything quite nicely and provided me with wasabi and shoyu.

The Missus chose a selection of nimono and ohitashi for a nice meal from the very friendly folks at another stand.

It made for a very nice lunch.

After finishing up, we headed to the market to grab some beverages and snacks for the evening. At first I was just going to grab 2-3 items, but ended up with quite a load. While walking the aisles I felt a tap on the shoulder. I turned to find a kind looking, elderly gentleman smiling at me. He had two shopping baskets in hand….and passed one of them to me. Such a thoughtful gesture. You gotta love Osaka.

The Missus and I were having a great time.

Kuromon Ichiba
2-4-1 Nippombashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka