Markets & Grocers – Page 24

Marion Crépes- a pop up inside Mitsuwa (available for a short time)

June 30, 2013 Cathy Desserts, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for dropping by mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are sweltering. Cathy somehow escaped the heat and discovered a treat.

This weekend was a scorcher! On Saturday, the temperature was 99• in the shade of our backyard. I wasn't too hungry and also was seeking a place to cool down. The Mister and I decided that driving West might yield some sort of option for a meal as well as air conditioned comfort. (The light meal is a future post.) When we were finished eating, we headed across the parking lot to Mitsuwa Marketplace.

We wanted to see what was on sale and maybe grab a cold beverage and snack as a 'dessert'. The automatic sliding glass doors opened and this stand was right in the middle of the Lobby.

Well. You know I pulled the camera/phone out of my pocket and started snapping away…

Plastic food models fascinate me, and the ones here are beautiful. There are 18 crépes to choose from: 16 sweet and two savory (the savories are hot- tuna with cheese and tuna with pizza sauce and cheese).

We placed an order and were told to wait on the far side of the booth setup.

In just a few minutes, our order ( a #12) was ready. ($5.50). A fresh made, not too sweet-battered crepe was filled and handed to us in the heavy duty folded paper cone. Filled with fresh whipped cream, blueberry preserves (not overly sweet) and a very good quality green tea ice cream (we had the choice of vanilla or green tea ice cream). Tasty, not too sweet and a delightful dessert for the two of us.

The signs show that the last day will be July 14, so stop by if you have a chance; it's good.

Marion Crepes 4240 Kearny Mesa Road San Diego 92111 (inside Mitsuwa Market)

Stehly Farms Market opens in Bay Park – A quick look

June 22, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

**** This location of Stehly Farms is no more.

I read on Eater San Diego that Stehly Farms, a Valley Center Organic operation was opening a brick and mortar shop on Morena Boulevard. Because this is in my neck of the woods, I was a bit surprised that I hadn't heard about this. So that very afternoon, the Missus and I went to check them out.

The shop is located at 1231 Morena, right next to Andres.

The shop appeared to be well spaced and the selection of produce was good.

Considering this is a local, organic operation, the prices are pretty much in line.

In addition to the wonderful looking produce, there's a selection of jams, some random Asian type stuff, bread from Bread and Cie, a cold case with dairy/almond milk, and of real interest to us….at least on this day, was the selection of cheese.

Even though we had come in just for a looky-look, we ended up getting some Franco and Angelo Burrata.

This is a nice addition to the neighborhood. Now we've got a good set of shops, from Seisel's and Catalina Offshore, to Stehly Farms and the Fruit Stand. Now all we need is a great bakery……..any takers?

Stehly Farms Market
1231 Morena Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92110

Hours:
Open Daily from 9am – 7pm

We put the burrata to good use.

Nijiya Market – snacks that make a meal

June 13, 2013 Cathy Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Yes, you are reading mmm-yoso!!! the blog about food. Kirk is gradually acclimating to this time zone. Ed (from Yuma) has already returned (to Yuma) and had no acclimatization problems. Cathy has been here all along and has had no changes in her environment, so she continues sharing posts about food.

My first encounter with this blog was more than seven years ago, when I was searching for more information about one of our favorite ethnic markets, located on Convoy street. So much time has passed, and I've only written one post while I can see over 500 mentions of Nijiya on this blog. The Mister and I shop here for basics, since almost everything sold in this market is organic. We also enjoy dropping in to grab a quick snack and purchase ready made items, sold in refrigerated and covered heated tray areas along the West wall of the store. There is also a new item sold along the counter there.

Noodles with dashi! ($3.50) Tell the nice person behind the counter which noodle you'd like (udon or soba) and they will turn around and go to the back wall of pots and cook up the noodles, bring a bowl of noodles back and give you a choice of four toppings (seaweed, green onion, bonito flakes and those tiny fried wheat balls that will expand in the broth) which you place on top of the noodles yourself, in any amount. The broth is placed in a separate container. You can also optionally add fried tofu (50¢), mixed wild vegetables (50¢), curry sauce ($1.50) and/or seasoned beef with onion ($1.50). We've had this several times, trying the various ingredients.

The above is a bowl with soba and the included toppings as well as the optional mixed vegetables (50¢) before the dashi broth was added.

The above photo is after the dashi broth was poured. For $3.50 plus the 50¢ added vegetables, this is a really nice meal.

Of course, fried foods are available here…and make a nice, quick snack. The above area is covered croquettes and patties of wonderful handy snacks.

This is the $1 vegetable croquette. Always crispy, never greasy and a medley of slivered carrot, squash, onion and potato.

Chicken Karaage (fried boneless chicken) is pre-packed and on the table in front of the covered croquettes. It's $7.99/lb and this container was $3.76. It's always fried properly and is juicy and usually crispy (we are usually at the store when they are placing the karaage out for purchase)

The Ika Geso Karaage (fried squid) is $12.99/lb, (this much was $2.53) and was a good amount for me to snack on. Crunchy and chewy, I do enjoy this squid when it is hot or cold.

This is called an "Edamame Salad" ($2.49) and yes, that's tuna on top. There are also red kidney beans and corn on top of the lettuce-cabbage mix. The dressing is peanut butter and soy based and really goes well with the various flavors.

There's also a sushi and sashimi area (of course) and this is called "Diamond Chirashi" ($6.99) Plenty of various fish and shrimp pieces, cucumber and egg on top of organic rice, all topped with large fish roe.

There's a small refrigerator at the counter and also near the cash registers that has both a cold and a hot section. I always grab a can of hot green tea (~$1) when I'm here.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Nijiya Market 3860 Convoy Street, Suite 109 San Diego 92111 (858)268-3821 Website

Zion Market-new location (finally!)-first look

May 24, 2013 Cathy Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog. Kirk is vacationing-following plans, ed(from Yuma) is planning for a vacation and Cathy is writing today about something unplanned.

Yesterday I was talking with a friend I hadn't seen in a year. We were (of course) talking about food and somehow the conversation went to the new Zion Market, which she told me was going to open today. Finally!!! (Kirk wrote about Zion Market in 2005 and again when announcing it would be moving (look at the date when he knew it would be moving). (Zion is a Korean Market, in case you didn't know)(I've posted about the 'food court' area inside the old Zion).

I hadn't planned on the market ever opening, and had a major assignment Friday morning, but managed to make it here in the afternoon. Located inside the old Kmart/Sears building on Clairmont Mesa at Convoy, the parking lot is able to handle the crowds.

I don't exactly remember the footprint of the old Kmart, but when I walked in, this place seemed a LOT larger than I recall! To the right will be the many individual run shops and franchises. None are open yet.

To the left when you walk in – the grocery aisles.

Wide aisles that run far to the back of the store.

A refrigerated wall runs along the front…

Items for sale are the usual suspects. Quite a few sale items are located interspersed in the store (not necessarily on the end caps).

The seafood and meat counters dominate the back wall…

as well as a really large refrigerator of panchan…

Sort of near the center back of the store is an 'island' area that looks like it will have ovens going all the time.

for now, the surrounding counters are holding the pre-cooked grab and go items.

The produce area is at least three times larger than at the 'old' Zion.

There is so much extra space and a greater selection. This Zion has 12 cash registers. The overhead lighting is all LED, not florescent (probably what took a bit of time in getting this space ready).

This is the view from the cash registers to the 'other side' – the storefront area of the building…see all the storefronts to the left? I cound eight.

If you look to the right from the checkout registers, you can see the soon to open Paris Baguette store.

Today was the first day and so things are a bit of a frenzy, as I would think will be happening all this long three day Memorial Day weekend.

Zion Market 7655 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92111 (858) 268-3300 Website

Trifecta Tavern-another restaurant inside a grocery store

April 22, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog you are reading. It's about food. Cathy is blogging today: Kirk is busy and so is ed(from Yuma).

After reading about Kirk's post about Whole Foods Market in Hawaii, The Mister and I were curious about 'our' location and when we drove to the La Jolla location, saw it was being remodeled; the parking lot was a mess and signs about a grand reopening in a few weeks were everywhere. We jumped back onto the 5 and headed North, knowing a new Whole Foods had opened at the Via de la Valle exit -the same exit that you take when going to the Del Mar Racetrack. Signage there indicated '400 additional parking places behind Whole Foods', so we drove into Flower Hill Promenade and found the new parking structure. It was practically empty.

An excellent map of the current and soon to be shops of the mall was just inside the walkway to the 'front' of the parking lot. We walked into the store and straight ahead were a series of hot food trays, and to the right of those were a bakery, grab and go area, a sandwich shop, pizza and deli area and to the direct right – right from the front door was the Trifecta Tavern. Because every grocery store seems to have an eat in area.

But- this one, inside Whole Foods, also serves a choice of 24 beers on tap, has a nice wine selection, daily specials and a very easy one page menu. It was lunchtime so we didn't choose an adult beverage, but we may share a beer next time.

You seat yourself, but the waitresses are constantly checking the seating and ready to take your order. Here's a view of the above mentioned area of the store from my seat.

The Mister ordered the grass fed burger, which comes with fries ($8). This was *wonderful*. The bun was light, fluffy, toasted. The burger was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had such flavor. The fries were perfectly crisp, not greasy and lightly salted. Even the ketchup, which was just the Whole Foods 365 organic store brand, had a more pronounced, tomato flavor than I have noticed from other brands of ketchup.

I chose to try a bit of everything- the Nosh Plate ($9). Really really good. Two meats, three cheeses, grilled bread slices, fruit, pickled vegetables and seasoned nuts all served with a house made blackberry mostard. So nice, filling and refreshing. Being able to try the sliced proscuitto and salame was enough for me to purchase some before leaving the store, along with stopping at the coffee and juice bar and purchasing a small cup of gelato before the drive home.

Whole Foods Market-Del Mar 2600 Via de la Valle, Suite 100 Del Mar, CA 92014 (858)436-9800 open 7 am-10pm, seven days a week

Big Island: South Kona Green Market and Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company

April 18, 2013 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Markets & Grocers

After a nice lunch at The Manago Hotel, we noticed a "farmer's market" across the street.

It was the Sunday South Kona "Green Market".

There weren't too many produce stands, but lots of health food and "new age-y" type booths.

It was quite amusing. I turned to the Missus and told Her; "the sixties never ended, it just moved to South Kona". Seeing the all health products made me feel kind of guilty having eaten that nice pork chop across the street, but that didn't last very long…….

We jumped in the car heading toward Kona. But instead of stopping there we ended up all the way in Kawaihae and the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company. The reason I remembered the place was because of the last photo in this post.

Part store, part factory, part tour, samples galore.

Like the sign says…."welcome to the nut house"………

After sampling just about everything they had out and chugging some samples of Kona coffee, I pretty much decided that the best items were plain nuts, the Spam flavored(more like bacon), and some of the glazed stuff.

All hail the shrine of Spam nuts……

There's a production line behind the window…….

you can even get your, ahem, nuts cracked…..

We had the whole place to ourselves and the nice ladies working here were a hoot!

As we paid for our stuff a minivan of tourists arrived and they were organizing a short "tour"….our que to hele on.

Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company
61-3251 Maluokalani St
Kawaihae, HI 96743

Tunisia: The Bakery, What’s behind the “door”, and Carthage

April 6, 2013 mmm-yoso Desserts, Markets & Grocers, Sidi Bou Said/La Marsa, Travel, Tunisia

the benefit of spending a couple of days in a single location is that you're able to get into a routine. In Sidi Bou Said the daily routine included a stop at this little neighborhood bakery in a cul-de-sac right downstairs from busy Habib Bourguiba.

At places like this, you select your snacks and pay by weight. The very mild-mannered, soft spoken gentleman running the place got used to seeing us, greeting us with smile on our visits.

On our last evening in Sidi Bou Said, the Missus was relaxing, doing stuff on the iPad. I went to the grocery, then stopped by the bakery. I was asked where my wife was….they had gotten used to seeing us together. I told him She was "resting". I placed the pastries the Missus wanted on a tray and carried it for weighing. I told the gentleman we were leaving in the morning and thanked him for being so nice. He placed everything gently in the box, weighed it, then went back to the pastry case and placed a good half dozen more pastries in the box, turned to me, placed his hand over his heart and said, "this is from me….thank you." Folks like this gentleman and Sophie really made our stay in Tunisia just that much special.

The other regular stop was the grocer on Habib Bourguiba. On our first visit, we noticed the "door"…..a door that usually had a line of men waiting.

Of course the Missus couldn't help herself. She kept wondering what was behind this door. Everytime we dropped by to purchase water or whatnot, the Missus would see the line and be beside Herself. We just didn't feel comfortable standing in line for the unknown…..

On my last trip to the market, I found the door open……opportunity knocked!

So what was behind the door?

In Islam, alcohol is forbidden, so I guess to be sensitive to Muslims, all the booze is kept in a separate room.

When we first decided to visit Tunisia, the first place that came to mind was Carthage. I mean really, Carthage. You'd be surprised at how many people I've met who have no idea that Carthage is actually in Tunisia. Then of course, there's how I first heard of Carthage when I was a child. There's the story of how Hannibal crossed the Alps with his army which included elephants!

Carthage itself is just a a couple of kilometers from where we were staying, so on one rather bright morning we headed off down Avenue Habib Bourguiba….to Carthage. The first thing that was obvious when we arrived was that Carthage was a pretty upscale neighborhood. Think of having several ancient ruins in, well, La Jolla……it was pretty strange overall. The signage was kind of ambivalent as well. After the drama of El Djem, Sbeitla, and Ksar Ghilane, this was pretty tame. Anyway, the site we enjoyed the most was the Antonine Baths, the third largest Roman bath complex in the world. According to what I've read, bath houses were very important in Roman Society and this seaside setting surely reflects that.

Most of what remains is the foundation and what I'm assuming are the underground network used to heat and move water.

I gotta say, the Roman really understood "location, location, location….."

The other locations we visited were somewhat non-descript. Some had trash strewn about. We decided to that a visit to the Byrsa Hill and the Musee de Carthage would be in order. It was really interesting trying to find the museum. Eventually, we found a sign and scrambled up this hill to the museum.

That building to the left is the beautiful Saint Louis Cathedral.

Which was not open to the public.

The view from the hill is dramatic. You can easily understand the importance of this location….

The museum itself, less so, as it seemed unorganized and haphazard. For me, the best display was of these two sarcophagus dating back to Punic times.

For some reason, even though it was still morning, the heat was getting to me……sort of like this mutt.

We headed down the hill to the TGM station and caught the light rail to La Marsa. After all, it was just about lunch time…….

Thanks for reading!

La Marsa (Tunisia): A cup of “Cafe Express” and some self catering

March 17, 2013 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, Markets & Grocers, Sidi Bou Said/La Marsa, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

We got up pretty early in the morning. The Missus decided that we should check out La Marsa, a village which is the last stop on the TGM, the Tunis train line. The Missus however, wanted to walk to La Marsa and we got some basic instructions from the folks at Dar Amilcar. La Marsa was somewhat sprawling, but looked more upscale. There are signs you notice that indicate a more well to do lifestyle; more cars and folks exercising. Folks who have to work long hours or hard labor just don't have the luxury of putting on some rather stylish work-out gear and go jogging. La Marsa really had a laid-back Mediterranean vibe which we really enjoyed….we later found out that many Europeans also enjoy the vibe as this is where the rich Tunisians and ex-pats live. We wandered the streets of La Marsa until we walked pass the Mosque.

Right past the mosque was a rather busy coffee shop….well, the coffee shop wasn't very busy, but the shaded little area across the street was. It seemed like this was where the locals hung out, socializing and chatting.

This seemed like the perfect place for a short break and a "cafe express", what the Tunisians call espresso.

So we had a seat, looked around, and just soaked in La Marsa.

One thing we quickly noticed was that everyone was facing the same direction. Toward the coffee shop and the little street in front of it. I'm not sure why this was, but hey, if it's good enough for the locals, right? I recall tweeting, "having a cup of cafe express with the locals, all facing the same direction, like camels toward the sun." Or something like that.

There was a bit of excitement when two cats decided to duke it out under a chair. What made it slightly humorous was that there was a gentleman seated in it! He was calmly reading a newspaper when all screeching hell broke out below him. He literally levitated out of his seat into the road. Ah, such was the thrill of having a cafe express here; you never knew what was going to happen next.

A few blocks away is the waterfront, here you suddenly knew why this was prime real estate, and why the Ottoman's made this their summer capital, a place to escape the heat.

We loved the palms, the white-washed look, it was so Mediterranean to us.

A few blocks away is this building. You could tell right away what it was…….

The perimeter of the ground floor was ringed by various shops, most of them selling meat, poultry, and charcuterie.

The center portion was where all the produce was located. Here's a view from above.

There was quite a good selection.

Our favorite shop here by far was the little pickle and olive shop.

There was just a staggering array of pickled items in this shop. The friendly guy running the place kept trying to give us samples.

At this point we decided to just go ahead and have a nice self-catered lunch. We'd hit up someplace a little bit nicer for dinner.

Right across the street from the other side of the building is a location of Monoprix Market, the big grocery chain in Tunisia. And next to the market is this Patisserie.

I took that photo a day later since the place was really packed on this day. I was just trying to survive long enough to get a baguette.

We started walking back the way we came, but then decided that the TGM might be a good bet. Thing was, we couldn't find the train station. The Missus went up to a gentleman and asked, he spoke some English, but then I noticed that he was blind. Leave it to the Missus to find the one blind guy in the crowd to give us directions. So we walked around looking for the TGM station. Finally, we saw a young lady, book in hand, she looked like a college student. So we went up and asked her if she spoke English, which she did….quite well by the way. We asked her where the train station was and she told us to follow her. We told her that she could just point it out to us, but she insisted on walking us there. We actually walked back toward the mosque, but on the other side, a good half kilometer. We felt really bad that the young lady, "Sophie" had to walk all this way with some strangers. She led us to the TGM station, told us to wait, and went to the window and spoke to the person issuing tickets. A couple of second later she came back and said, "your train will be here in a few minutes….here are some tickets, this is from me. I hope you enjoy Tunisia." My goodness, what could we say! I felt like we should be giving her some money, but thought that would have just insulted her. So I simply got her name, we shook hands, she smiled, turned around and walked away. Bless you Sophie, you're a wonderful ambassador of your city! You really touched us and we'll always remember your generous and kind gesture.

We caught our train and made it back to the Sidi Bou Said station and did the short 10 minute walk back to the Dar Amilcar.

While the Missus went upstairs to freshen up, I spoke to the woman working and she led me to the kitchen and I got some plates, silverware, and glasses for us.

We ended up having a nice lunch……nice cheese from Monoprix.

Peppers, olives, and various pickles from the stand in the market……

Man, that baguette was really good!

Sitting around the pool……..

Having a nice bottle of wine……

Life was good!

We also met a friendly gentleman who was sunning at the pool. I believe his name is Raphael. He told us he was from Toulouse and visits Sidi Bou Said just about every 6 weeks or so. He told us it's cheaper to have a little weekend holiday in Tunisia than it is in France. Anyway, he gave us a couple of recommendations for places to eat.

Things were indeed looking up.

Thanks for reading!

Las Vegas: Lunch at Three Villages and checking out some of the markets

March 2, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Markets & Grocers, Nevada, Road Trip, Xiao Long Bao

After having some poke from Hawaaian Style Poke in the parking lot of 99 Ranch Market, I realized it was still too early to check out my "lunch stop". So what better to do then check out 99 Ranch Market? In fact, after walk around 99 Ranch Market, I drove up the street and had a look-see at 168 Market, which wasn't around the last time we visited Vegas.

The set-up of this 99 Ranch Market reminded me of the Irvine location.

Items are a bit more expensive here as well. Love the Engrish signs as well…..

Further up the street is 168 Market, which I thought was the cleanest of the three I visited.

I left 168 and jumped into my car and headed over to the plaza that housed Shun Fat Market. On the second floor is a Shaghainese Restaurant called Three Villages that had been mentioned to me a couple of times.

The set-up was a bit odd; at least for me. The "front" or street facing entrance is locked and really is just a large sign. You have to go around the corner and fine the entrance and the place almost looks vacated.

But of course it wasn't……..the place was empty when I arrived though. I had to call out to check if they were actually in business.

Ordering was pretty simple. I'd come here for the Xiao Long Bao. I did make it a "combo" for a buck more and got some soup….a very plain soup with bean thread and tofu.

Actually this kind of plain, but hearty soup is the kind of thing the Missus likes….me, not so much. I will say that it was a pretty large amount of soup.

The XLB arrived soon after. First thing I noticed was how doughy and thick looking the wrappers were.

Still, I'm not the biggest fan of the over-worked, very thin wrappers and these ended up having a decent light stretch to them…..I still thought they were a bit on the thick side.

The filling was disappointing. Since they only have straight up pork XLB, I didn't expect a great range of flavors from the soup, but this was pretty weak, lacking in a good pork flavor and having no sweetness what so ever. The filling also had some hard bits as well.

Still better than anything in San Diego though. That's really not saying much…..

Three Villages Restaurant
5115 W Spring Mountain Road
Las Vegas, NV 89103

After lunch I headed downstairs and had a little stroll through Shun Fat Market.

Since I was headed back to our room, I picked up a couple of Suan Nai for breakfast.

Just walking through these three markets you could notice things. The cleanest and busiest was 168. Both 168 and 99 Ranch Market actually listed the origin of their seafood, SF did not. The least cleanest was SF. I also saw a woman pick up a fish with her hands at SFM, then after putting it back she washed her hands….in the tank holding the clams! As I walked to my car in the strip mall, I smelled an acrid odor that everyone knows…..I saw the pool of liquid near the stairs. Unlike the seafood in SFM, I knew the country of origin of this liquid….. "urine-nation". Yikes.

North Park Produce (finally) opens in Clairemont

February 21, 2013 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

Like I earlier, it's almost like we've been stalking the place. But honestly, it seems like forever since I first noticed the coming soon sign back in September. So this afternoon, on my way home from work….I took my usual "stalker's glance" and saw folks walking into North Park Produce with shopping carts!

So the Missus and I stopped by on our way to dinner. I found out that they opened today, though their official "Grand Opening" is a couple of days away.

The shelves were full, but some of the produce bins are still empty and there's a section with a brick oven and kitchen area that's not ready yet. I'm thinking fresh baked breads and hopefully prepared food are soon to come.