Road Trip – Page 18

Road Trip (Before Covid-19) – Antelope Slot Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon, and Dinner at Shift Kitchen and Bar (Flagstaff)

October 24, 2020 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Flagstaff/ Sedona/Winslow/Northern AZ, Road Trip, Travel

***** Warning; this post is super long.

Man, it's been over a year since we did this road trip. I thought I'd better get my posts done. The Missus wanted to do a road trip over the Labor Day weekend last year. She had been wanting to check out Antelope Canyon for years. So, after doing a bit of research , I came up with a plan, to do both Antelope Slot Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon, check-out Horseshoe Bend, and even do a small group tour of the Grand Canyon over the weekend, with just taking the Tuesday after Labor Day off. Frankie's Auntie "Alle" had just returned from visiting family in Italy and graciously said she'd love having Frankie around over the weekend.

So, we left on Saturday morning. I'd planned a couple of stops along the way. When we stopped right outside El Centro….good lord, it was in the high 90's and the humidity was crazy, so we drove through Yuma and decided to get gas in Dateland at the travel center. The Missus actually enjoyed shopping at the Travel Center and even bought a couple of packages of dates.

We then headed out east on the 8, then headed up the 85, onto the 10 East, then straight up the 17 toward Flagstaff.

Then it happened. About 15-20 miles out of Flagstaff, my transmission went out. I pulled to the side of the road and we tried calling AAA. Unfortunately, cell phone reception was very bad. I finally found a high spot off the freeway and got thru to the Auto Club. Unfortunately, they weren't able to find our location….I even got the latitude and longitude, but no bueno. What I neded up doing was calling the Highway Patrol and getting a location after they pinged the cell phone tower and I walked up about a mile and got the milepost as well.

And then it was just waiting……good thing I could still start my vehicle and run the AC and such. And we waited…..I think this cloud kinda looks like Frankie, what do you think?

And for some reason; a version of an Eagles song went through my mind; "stuck on the shoulder outside Flagstaff, Arizona……"

After about 90 minutes a tow truck arrived and we got hitched up and were on our way to Flagstaff…….except about 5 miles down the road, our tow truck broke down….soooooo; we now needed a tow truck for our tow truck! About an hour later, a fleet of tow vehicles arrived, including the owner of the tow company who was so nice and apologetic.

This time they used a car carrier and we drove to the Flagstaff Toyota dealership. Now, I'm not big on fancy cars; my little 2005 RAV4 had over 220k miles on it….the Missus decided it was time I got a new car. Which is how we went on a roadtrip and I ended up getting a new RAV4. By the time all the paperwork was done and the car was prepped it was 9pm and we headed off to Page. Which was a 2 1/2 hour drive. We got into our hotel at around midnight and immediately crashed….it had been a long day.

The next morning; we had the hotel breakfast and checked out. I had made two reservations for the day….we'd be visiting upper and lower Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is located in the Navajo Nation so all access is by tour groups.

Our first visit was to Antelope Slot Canyon. We headed into Page and arrived at the designated location for Antelope Slot Canyon Tours by Chief Tsosie. Based on our reservation time; we were loaded onto minibuses and headed out. Our guide was amazing; so knowledgeable, even fielding questions and making recommendations for other places to visit.

There were quite a few vehicles parked as several companies do tours here.

And what you don't really see in photos are the crowds of folks entering.

Though they do a really great job of keeping distances between groups allowing folks time to take photos and take in the beauty of the canyon.

Before entering we were given a little lesson on how the canyon was formed. We were asked how the canyon formed in the specific way and no one answered; so I finally went, "sandstone erosion based on fast flowing floods". The guy stopped and cracked up, telling me "I've been doing this for a decade and that's the best answer I've ever had." Not sure if he was just making feel good……and I got an elbow and a whisper of "don't show off" from the Missus for my effort.

Like I mentioned; our guide was amazing. He went over the famous "sites" and set-up and took photos of everyone in the group. He kept folks together; even the two groups of "selfie Instagram girls". He told us stories of Antelope Canyon; the flash flood in 1997 that took the lives of 11 people, with only one survivor (see the link if interested), about Peter Lik's black and white photo of Antelope Canyon fetching 6.5 million dollars, and that National Geographic is banned from Antelope Canyon, how the canyon had been closed twice because folks were illegally dumping human ashes in the canyon.

The lighting does play tricks with you…….

Other well known locations were pointed out; like the "Dragon's Eye".

Let your imagination run wild……

This tour was super easy; the terrain is level so there were quite a few people on the tour. It does get a bit cramped at times, but I as very happy we did this.

We had a little over an hour between tours. I had a well regarded fried chicken place in mind for lunch; but it was just too hot for us to think about having that. Instead, I just bought some cold cuts and a salad from the Safeway across the street from the tour office. This would be enough to hold us until dinner. We planned to be in Flagstaff by then.

After lunch we headed off to Ken's Tours Lower Antelope Canyon. Man, the waiting/office area was packed. Luckily, we had made reservations months earlier. When we were called, we queued up and then headed down a trail. Just looking out, you really couldn't tell that there was a slot canyon here.

And after a short walk, we arrived at some pretty steep stairs and headed down into the canyon.

And while our guide at Antelope Slot Canyon was definitely better; the lighting here was amazing. Also, foot traffic here is one way thru, you don't have to turn around to head back, which made things less cramped. And did I mentioned the lighting????

The lighting, shadows, red sandstone just adds to the otherworldly feeling.

And you start seeing shapes…….some of them are quite well known. This is "Bruce the Shark".

And don't forget to look up. I actually saw the shape of a seahorse in the view to the right.

This was quite an amazing place to visit and I'm glad we did it.

After the tour, before heading to Flagstaff, the Missus had one more place on Her "list". A place that was actually made famous by social media, a destination made popular by Instagram, Horseshoe Bend. Back in, say 2014, about 40,000 people a year visited Horseshoe Bend….but after folks started posting photos on Instagram, you know, the selfie generation, it is estimated that over 2,000,000 folks visit the site right outside Page every year.

And so we found a parking spot and made the short pilgrimage down the trail to the look-out.

Notice the folks sitting on the bench? Well, it was pretty darn hot already on this day.

We saw several young people sitting and vomiting…..heat stroke…I guess perhaps they'd partied too hard or hadn't hydrated properly. What was even worse were the knuckleheads who brought their dogs out. We saw one vomiting….a guy was running past us in the opposite direction; his poor dog was having seizures! What morons.

We joined the masses to take a photo that I guess everyone now needs to have.

We saw quite a few people head over the railing to get "that photo" of themselves here. Crazy. Even with the overlook in place, folks still find a way to kill themselves.

We headed off to Flagstaff. I'd booked two nights at the Residence Inn in "Flag" as I heard residence call the city. Home to Northern Arizona University, both the Missus and I enjoyed our time in the city…..folks were friendly, there's a kind of artsy, hipster, chill vibe. At around 7,000 feet elevation, the weather was much cooler than Page. Also, I was a bit surprised to see the pine forests surrounding the city.

We also lucked out as right across the street from our hotel, the city was having it's "Art in the Park" festival.

Where we managed to do a good bit of shopping and purchase some gifts for folks back home.

It was a fun time….folks (including the four legged ones) were so friendly here.

Gifts in tow; we headed back to the hotel for a short break before heading out for dinner.

And while our dinner destination was a mere two blocks from where we were staying; we took our time. We really enjoyed the historic downtown area of the city.

For dinner, I did a bit of research and decided on Shift Kitchen and Bar; the focus on shared plates and an interesting cocktail list seemed like just the thing for us.

We were seated across from the bar area; a perfect place for us as we could see what others ere ordering and still had some privacy.

The cocktails were good; my favorite of the evening was the Smoked & Dirty Martini.

There was one item that drew me to Shift. The Missus loves salt and vinegar chips and the Pickled French Fries with "Secret Sauce" seemed like something She's love.

Wonderfully "pickly" with a good amount of salt, the Missus just loved this. She really didn't need the "secrest sauce" (think Mickey D's). As a matter of fact, we had a second order of this.

The Duck Liver Tart, was well, a bit too "tart" and sweet for our taste.

We loved the greens, though the pickled pears were much too sour for us.

The Smoked Bone Marrow was quite good; though the garnishes added perhaps a bit too much acidity for our taste.

Loved the bone marrow; savory-buttery goodness on the toast. Could have done without all the mustard seed and really acidic pickled veggies – jalapeno which really detracted from the goodness of the bone marrow.

All-in-all, a decent first meal. Friendly, amiable service, solid cocktails…..we (the Missus) would definitely return for those fries.

Shift Kitchen & Bar
107 N San Francisco St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Current Hours:
Wed – Sun 5pm – 9pm

We'd had a pretty busy 24 hours….we drove from San Diego, got stuck on the I-17, bought a new car in Flagstaff, drove to Page and spent the night, visited Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, and were really enjoying Flagstaff. Man, would I sleep well on this evening. Dreaming of red sandstone shapes rising toward the sky……

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip (Before Covid) – Bistro Na’s

August 31, 2020 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

After our dinner at Mister Jiu's in San Francisco; the Missus really wanted to head on over to Bistro Na's in Temple City, which also has a Michelin Star and has become a favorite of Hers. Since my Birthday was on a weekend, we decided to head on over for lunch.

At this point in time the first positive cases of Covid-19 had been reported and infections were still in the single digits and the first confirmed cases were reported in the UK and Spain….man, that just seems so long ago.

At this point; we could tell that folks; especially in the Chinese community were getting a bit leery as was clearly indicated by how empty Bistro Na's was during our visit.

Even though it was my birthday; the Missus took charge of ordering, and She quickly found another dish to add to Her "favorites list"; the Okra in Seasoned Dressing.

The okra had been nicely presented in a wonderfully balanced salty-sweet-savory sauce that heightened the pleasantly earth-grassy flavor of the okra. The Missus loved the combination of the crunchy, yet slippery (gotta love that "neba-neba") okra as well. We have another one for the list.

Man, that spinach with sesame sauce was slathered in the stuff.

There was a deceptively large amount of spinach in this as it had been compressed into a square shape. Just a bit too much sesame paste in this for us.

Of course; my favorite is the Chili Tofu Skin. We always place a full order and get another order to go.

So refreshing, crunchy, with a touch of spice, the cilantro adding a nice, bright, mild pungent-lemony touch to things.

We did not care for the Stuffed Lotus Root; it was too sweet and the texture quite mushy.

And two other favorites – you can read about those in my previous posts.

Of course the Crispy Shrimp is a must.

And the light and crisp; super tender, but wonderfully gamey Crispy Lamb Brisket.

While we still haven't roamed very far yet; we are sorely tempted to get takeout from Bistro Na's….which is what they are doing right now.

Who knows; we might just give in and treat ourselves…..though driving 120 miles each way might just be pushing it a bit, don't you think?

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
(626) 286-1999

What have you been doing to treat yourself and make things more bearable these days?

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Showcase of floats, Lunch at Costa’s (Covina)

January 6, 2020 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, on this beautiful January day. Cathy is writing and the first part of this post is about the 2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Showcase of Floats, and at the end is the part about the food we ate that day.

When the Rose Parade ends, the floats line up end to end on Sierra Madre Boulevard and they can be viewed from about 1 p.m. on January 1 and from 7 a.m.- 4 p.m. on January 2. There are three entrances, each one easily found with a colored balloon (you can see the red balloon here).

The Theme of the 2020 Parade, "The Power of Hope" logo was on the Opening float, parked in the Pasadena High School parking lot.
The Burbank Tournament of Roses Association presented "Rise Up", depicting a mythical Phoenix rising from the ashes (of the 2018 California wildfires) to create hope, rebirth and renewal.
"Hope Knows No Limits", presented by Shriners Hospital for Children celebrated the carefree spirit of childhood that is born of Hope. Notice the 'child' on the swing has a prosthetic leg."First Responders Bring Hope, Presented by the Oddfellows and Rebekahs and had multiple First Responders, in uniform, riding the float and being applauded along the Parade route.
"Hope Keeps Us Going" by the City of Alhambra was a cute contribution to the variety of 46 floats along the route.
"The Voyage of Hope-1620" presented by General Society of Mayflower Descendents embodied the parade theme in that the 12 passengers who embarked on the journey in a cargo ship 400 years ago were motivated by the hope for freedom religion and a better way of life.
Details of so many of the floats are missed when viewing on television. the Welcome Credit Union float, "Hope Creates Community" showed the story of a community coming together to help a young (squirrel) family fix up their new 'tree home'. Such detail.

Speaking of details, here are some close ups of signage on some of the floats:
So many of the float designs also had details you might have missed if you were watching the Parade on television.

46 floats, thousands of volunteers, tens of thousands of man hours. Impossible to document it all; I have over 300 photos. This post has links to all of the float road tests we attended. This is a link to Phoenix Decorating Company, one of three float builders (in addition to the six self-built float builders). This link to The Rose Examiner has so many articles about the Tournament as well as float winners and better photographs.

The theme and President of the 2021 Tournament will be introduced in just about two weeks.

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In 2018, Phoenix Decorating Company moved the construction barn from Pasadena to Irwindale and that gave The Mister and I plenty of new restaurants to explore following our observing the float road tests. One restaurant we really liked was Costa's Family Restaurant in West Covina, where we enjoyed dinner after decorating floats in 2018. We hadn't been to Costa's for more than a year! It was January 2 and the lobby was still decorated for Christmas. Being a weekday, there were several 'lunch specials' on the menu. Time for comfort food to start the year, and follow the miles of walking to view the floats.
Liver and onions (calves liver; tender, thin and with a wonderful flavor). $8.29. It came with the salad or soup, dinner roll and either a beverage or dessert.
The hot turkey sandwich ($9.99) on a slice of white bread, served with vegetables, mashed potatoes and lots of gravy (along with -yes- canned cranberry sauce) was really wonderful, filling, flavorful and satisfying. The (baked here) dinner roll; wonderful. The mixed sherbet dessert was just a perfect ending to this meal and just enough to make the drive back home to East County without needing to stop for a snack.

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

Happy New Year!

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating. Dinner at Peppertree Cafe (Glendora).

December 8, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!! is primarily a food blog. There are many reasons food is acquired. Cathy is posting today about another year end event when she and The Mister volunteer, along with their meal following the long work day. Kirk and His Missus are still 'on vacation'.

In January, the New President of the Tournament of Roses was announced and she announced the theme of the 2020 Rose Parade. (Details at the top of this post, along with links to all 2020 float road tests). This Saturday was the first day of float decorating. Check in kiosks, light rain and an excitement surrounded the Phoenix Decorating Company decorating barn in Irwindale. Soon enough, we were called in and met our Crew Chief who escorted us to the float where we would be working on this first of the 'dry' decorating days. Live flowers show up around December 26 or 27, so they will be fresh on the floats. These Saturdays before Christmas are decorations made with glue and tiny details of dry materials: peas, beans, lentils, coffee grounds, straw, dry flowers, dry parsley and so much more.
Walking past numerous floats
and material product (these are statice flowers, which are cut, dried and blended into a powder to be spread on floats needing large areas of blue or pink colors).
Colors are painted for easy material application. ('Soaring with Hope' presented by Kiwanis International).
Here's part of a thatch roof effect, almost finished before lunch. ('Growing a Better Tomorrow' by Western Asset).
Glue and onion seed being applied. ('Planting Seeds of Hope' by Sikh American Float Foundation).
Rotary ('Hope Connects the World') had a lot of volunteers this first day.
Shriner's Hospitals for Children ('Hope Knows No Limits') completed quite a bit.
These ladies, first time volunteers, were applying bended straw flowers to one of the homes on the SCAN Foundation float, 'Hope's Hope'.
The Lions Club float ('Hope for 2020')really has so many cute details all related to vision, one of their five tenants.
Part of the SCAN Foundation float had coffee grounds (on the frame of the window), sesame seeds (the yellow 'bricks') and poppy seeds (the darker half circle castle pieces). Across the way is the Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day float, 'Plant a garden, Believe in Tomorrow'.There's the Cowboy Channel float, 'Walk, Ride, Rodeo'.
Here's Trader Joe on 'It Takes a Flight of Fancy'. He's in a pickle barrel and holding a pickle in his left hand. Two floats are still under construction- Wescom Credit Union and Farmers Insurance. There's plenty of time(!)

Details, dry materials, glue: what a day.

Details for volunteering and artist renditions of some of the floats are on the Phoenix Decorating page. Details of Tournament activities are on The Rose Examiner page and more other Tournament activity details on the Tournament of Roses page.

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We stopped at Cream Pan for a quick breakfast on the way up, brought our own lunch for our 30 minute break and decided to head East, to Glendora, for dinner once we finished working. I posted about a breakfast here in 2018 There is a regular menu as well as a Special Menu on weekends.

Italian Wedding Soup-very good long simmered chicken broth along with the spinach and carrots, tiny beef-pork meatballs and tiny orzo pasta.
The house made thousand Island is excellent. A refreshing salad.
An eight ounce Top Sirloin along with five coconut shrimp and choice of potato or fresh vegetables (sautéed in garlic butter) ($13.99) Look at all those vegetables! The Top Sirloin was cooked to a perfect medium rare and had great flavor, the crispy coconut shrimp were so nice; plump, juicy and crispy.
Prime Rib ($15.99) was great- medium rare, large and flavorful, and the salted baked potato made this special meal after a long day just a bit more special.

We had really liked the breakfast here…dinner was also excellent.

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.

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Tests #5 and #6, breakfasts at Michael’s Superburgers (Irwindale) and other (regular) stops

November 24, 2019 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is primarily a food blog. So many events revolve around finding a place for a meal. Cathy (and Her Mister) have a regular pastime of viewing the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade floats being tested for mechanics and maneuverability before being decorated and participating in the Parade on January 1. Here's another post.

The Tournament of Roses is only a few weeks away. There are so many activities which will happen the week between Christmas and January 2- you can find comprehensive and updated listings in The Rose Examiner. The tournament is not just the Parade and the football game; there is Bandfest, Equestfest, Sip and Savor, Rose Bowl Bash, Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction and the Showcase of Floats. So much to see and do to ring in the New Year!

The past few months have been unusually busy for The Mister and myself that I didn't post the October Float Road Test at Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale. Here are a few photos (some are 'before and after') of both test days.

"Planting Seeds of Hope", presented by the Sikh American Float Foundation, describes the 2020 float: "Bhai Ghaneya Singh, a devout Sikh, leads the float as he symbolically pours water from his sheepskin vessel. He is remembered for his selfless service to all humanity with love, respect, compassion and humility. The water flows onto large sculpted flowers each supporting children from diverse backgrounds. A fantasy garden provides the backdrop to a nurturing environment in which we celebrate our greatest hope for the future….our children." Each year, I learn something from the Sikh float.
The SCAN Foundation has a float in the Rose Parade for the first time. The title of "Hope's Heroes" reflects the definition of this organization, "an independent public charity devoted to transforming care for older adults in ways that preserve dignity and encourage independence".
Shriners Hospitals for Children has the theme of "Hope Knows No Limits" and features Fezzy Bear pushing a young girl, with a below the knee prosthesis, on a swing.
Trader Joe, the Fearless Flyer, is depicted on the 2020 float, "It Takes a Flight of Fancy"…
spinning in a pickle barrel!Western Asset's 2020 Rose Parade entry, "Growing a Better Tomorrow" is quite a large float, depicting a series of tree houses in an exotic setting. Magnificent!
The 'Banner Float" is colored in and ready to be decorated to display the theme of the parade at the start.
The final two floats of the parade
will relay the upcoming Tournament of Roses Rose Bowl football game, to be played at 2 p.m. on January 1.

Decorating (dry/detail) begins Saturday December 7 (and the following Saturdays before Christmas) then the fresh flowers arrive and daily decorating from December 26 forward. There are links to sign up for volunteering on the Phoenix Decorating Company site.

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On to the Food portion of the blog. In October, The Mister and I stopped at 'the usual' place- Cream Pan in Tustin for a sandwich, a ham and cheese croissant and a strawberry croissant. After the float road test, we (again) returned to Portos in West Covina, where we shared an "Omelette Plato" ($6.45)-a cheese omelette topped with avocado and tomato which comes with crispy Spanish potatoes and an arugula salad tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Filling, refreshing and there's enough room for other items…since this was the last weekend of October,
Dia de los Muerto decorated cookies and Pan de Muertos were purchased. The soft, eggy bread was filled with candied orange peel and orange blossom water; a wonderful bread.

Also, seasonal potato balls were available: filled with turkey, gravy and vegetables, rolled in a well seasoned crust, these are a very special treat (and only $1.05!). [photo credit to canine cologne]

We stopped at the Kolache Factory yesterday and the seasonal turkey with stuffing kolache was available (along with our 'always order' of a bacon and cheese kolache). Seasonal offerings are always special.

When leaving the Road Test, we went one signal light South and then East to the next signal light. On the Southwest corner of Arrow Highway and Vincent, this signage made me take a turn into the parking lot.
The breakfast menu behind the counter is straightforward.
I haven't ordered a bacon and egg sandwich ($6.99) in a while; have forgotten what I am missing. White bread, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, four thick slices of crispy bacon and a beautiful runny egg. Simple perfection.
The Mister ordered a chili cheese omelet ($9.99). At least there eggs, filled with cheese, topped with a really good chili that was topped with more cheese. Again, perfection. His toast was sourdough, the hash browns were wonderfully crisp.

Need to stop at the local places; follow the New Year Resolution.

Michael's Superburgers 16350 Arrow Highway Irwindale, CA 91706 Open daily 6 a.m.-midnight Website

The Cowboy Channel has a float in the parade; it's under construction. Link to artist rendition of some of the 2020 Rose Parade floats

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Revisits to Bistro Na’s (Temple City), Tribute Pizza, and is La Catrina Closed for Good?

October 10, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Mexican Restaurants, Pizza, Road Trip, Taco Shops

Wow, several of my favorite food groups in one post….after all the really wordy posts recently, I thought I'd give you all a break.

Bistro Na's (Temple City):

Yes, again….the Missus was wondering how getting a Michelin Star would affect Bistro Na's. Well, as far as our lunch was concerned; the crowds are larger now, but the service was still top notch.

And our favorites are still our favorites.

I enjoyed the Zui Ji (Drunken Chicken), which was on the mild side in terms of flavor but super tender and moist.

The Missus enjoyed the stir fried cauliflower.

But we'll pass on the Chili Beef with Tofu in the future.

Decent numbingness, but not much else; strangely not spicy and rather plain and bland in spite of looks.

As you can tell that we've done multiple visits over the last couple of months, this place is a favorite of the Missus.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780

Tribute Pizza:

It's been a while since we last visited and our planned dinner destination was closed (see below). So we walked over. It was still Happy Hour so we got two pizzas…..seven bucks each during HH!

This was more food than we needed and had leftovers. The pizzas were better than we remembered; simple but perfectly prepared. The Missus also enjoyed a sangria….. We gotta drop by more often.

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Happy Hour:
Tues – Fri 4pm – 6pm

Is La Catrina Closed?:

**** La Catrina has closed

The reason we went to Tribute was because our intended destination; La Catrina was closed; with this sign posted on the door.

Strange, because we'd just gone the previous week and everything was just fine. And the Missus loved the Tacos De Flor De Jamaica; jicama, mushroom, and eggplant tacos.

The Carnitas and Octopus Cazuela was a good as always.

I did express concern about this place in my previous post and it doesn't look good.

I hope I'm wrong…..

La Catrina Tapas & Cantina
3139 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Test #4, Breakfast at Burger Depot (La Puente)

September 29, 2019 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about interesting meals and how said meals came to be. Today, Cathy is writing; Kirk is exhausted with work.

Link to 2020 Road test #1

Link to 2020 Road Test #2

Link to 2020 Road Test #3

Link to 200 Road Tests #5 and #6

Another Road Test weekend for the floats participating in the 2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade. The Mister and I woke at 4, left home at 5, drove through on and off light rain to Tustin for some snacks at the Kolache Factory then headed to Irwindale to the Phoenix Decorating Company to watch floats for the Rose Parade being tested along Ornelas Street.

"Plant a Garden, Believe in Tomorrow" presented by Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. Mrs. Meyer's makes household cleaners with scents inspired by a backyard midwest garden. The white 'outline' on the float resembles the outline on the label of each of the Mrs. Meyer's products. The flowers -both the sunflowers at the back and the roses along the sides- are animated and will be tilting (and smiling) along the parade route.
It looks like the City of Hope float will simply have the same title, going along with the "Power of Hope" theme of the parade.
Here is progression of construction of the float "Cultivating Curiosity" presented by The Huntington, a Pasadena Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens celebrating its 100th year in 2020. Ed (from Yuma) and Tina enjoyed a lovely tea and visit here in 2014.
The Royal Court (which will be announced on Monday September 30) will be riding on this float during the Parade. The Court serves as year round ambassadors for the Tournament and each member receives a small ($7500) education scholarship. Follow The Rose Examiner for more information about the Royal Court and other information about the Tournament activities.
The Shriners float and the United Sikh Mission also had their floats tested this day. The float barn is filling up! 22 of the 44 floats in the parade will be constructed here.

The Mister and I headed home down Vincent Street, one block East of Irwindale Avenue. We passed a few places that looked interesting. Vincent turns into S. Glendora Avenue which then turns into N. Hacienda Boulevard. There's a five way signal light at the triangle corner of N. Hacienda and N. Unruh. Look at those signs. Look at the shape of the building. You know we had to stop.

The menu, above and on the counter by the order and pay register, isn't too overwhelming.

You can watch your food being cooked in a non-hipster open kitchen concept. It's brought out to your table.
The chicken breast and eggs breakfast ($7.55) comes with flat-top crisped potatoes and toast. The eggs were over easy (even that broken one still oozed yolk), the chicken was moist and tasty. A great, healthy breakfast.
Chilaquiles ($7.99) were made to order (I saw fresh tortillas being grilled up before being drowned in the home made, chile de arbol based sauce (spicy!)). Topped with perfect over easy eggs with sides of refried beans (also made here; many were whole) and more crunchy potatoes. We are going to return to try hamburgers here, since the name is Hamburger Depot. They are probably pretty good.

Hamburger Depot 1169 N. Hacienda Blvd. La Puente, CA 91744 (626) 917-1872

The Old Neighborhood – Tasty Noodle House (Hacienda Heights) and Yi Mei Deli (Rowland Heights)

September 22, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Because we flew back home to via LAX, we decided to use some rental car points for a one way rental and hotel points for a stay in our old neighborhood overnight.

And while the food on our flight wasn't anything to write home about; it did the job and we weren't famished when we arrived at LAX. A good thing too, since traffic on the 105 was terrible.

And so, we decided to just grab something simple near to our hotel and decided on the Hacienda Heights location of Tasty Noodle House.

This little shop wasn't around when we lived here; but we just thought having a couple of smaller dishes would suit us well. As a bonus, there was a buy three dishes get one free thing going on; so, in spite of it being something the Missus didn't care for, I got my Drunken Chicken free.

I enjoyed this version; it was much better than what I've had the San Diego location. This had a nice balance between the wineyness and wasn't over salty. The chicken was tender and moist.

The Xun Yu ("cold smoked fish"), a favorite of the Missus, was much too sweet for our taste.

We also ordered the Spicy Stinky Tofu.

The tofu was a bit dry; but we both enjoyed the earthy-funkiness of the fermented tofu and the mild spiciness. This seems like a good combination.

The final item to arrive was the Shen Jian Bao.

This was actually pretty good; while not nearly as good as the Tianjin Baozi at the San Gabriel location of Tasty Noodle House; this was not bad. The bottoms were not overly thick and nicely crisped without being scorched likw what I've had at the San Diego location. Nice porkiness in the filling, which was moist, the tops were yeasty and adequately fluffy. Not bad at all.

I've always said that all Tasty Noodle Houses are different….this kind of proves the point.

Tasty Noodle House
1611A S Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 10pm

We got up fairly early the next morning and instead of sticking around for lunch, just decided to head back home to not encounter any traffic. So, we decided to hit up a place that was a fairly regular stop for us when we lived in the area during the late '90's, Yi Mei Deli. Looking through our 4,195 posts, I see that I've kinda mentioned Yi Mei Deli and even once did a post on the frozen XLB from the place.

Considering how much we used to go here back in the day; I was surprised I haven't really done a post…..

With all the changes in Hong Kong Plaza; it's nice to see that Shau Mei and Hong Kong Fishball House, along with Yi Mei Deli are still doing well.

Strangely, my favorite steamed bun from here has always been the Vegetable Steamed Bun. I always loved the almost smokey-bitterness of the greens, which I think went well with the yeasty-fluffy dough.

There was some sticker shot because when we lived here; these steamed buns were 75 cents….it's now $1.95!

Loved the fluffiness of the steamed bun; but the filling, while having that savory bitterness I enjoy, was on the dry side.

Yi Mei Deli
18414 Colima Rd. (In Hong Kong Plaza)
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Still, it was a nice blast from the past…….I've many memories of grabbing one or two of these for a quick weekend breakfast before heading off to the Torrance Farmer's Market.

It brought back some nice memories….

Thanks for stopping by!

Laguna Beach – Top of the World Loop Trail, Dinner at Sapphire Laguna, and Sunsets

September 6, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Orange County, Road Trip, Travel

One of Frankie's favorite Aunties; "Alle" recently gifted us with a two night stay in Laguna Beach! So, after an early dinner on a Friday, we headed up to Laguna Beach. We parked downtown and scoped out places I had on my list and also places Uber Blogger "Elmo" had provided for me for the following evening's dinner. Sadly; we just weren't particularly impressed with the offerings……

But that was ok; we were staying at the charming La Casa del Camino; which was built in 1929.

Which has Spanish-style rooms….but our gift certificate specified staying in one of the "Casa Surf Rooms". Each had been designed by different designers and sponsored by various sports and activity companies like Billabong and Rip Curl. We got the very unique Roxy Room.

It was quite comfortable and the staff was very friendly. The hotel has a very popular restaurant and an even more popular Rooftop Bar with wonderful views and a zillion people doing alcohol therapy! We saw quite a few middle aged folks walking kind of unsteadily down the stairs during the evening. We just wanted to relax with the A/C on!

La Casa del Camino
1289 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We headed down one of the streets to watch the sunset.

The next morning the Missus decided She wanted to go on a hike. We had gone to the visitors center downtown the previous evening and the nice gentleman working recommended the Top of the World Loop Trail. So we headed up to Alta Laguna Park and spent a couple of hours on the easy hike……

It was a pretty hot and humid weekend and the views were pretty hazy.

Lots of mountain bikers and dogs were doing the trail. One really funny Retriever refused to even start the hike; he just laid down on all fours. The owner told us; he doesn't like the sun, so I guess we're not going past here today. It was really funny.

There were quite a few critters on the trail, a ton of rabbits, and this one actually shook his rattle at the Missus!

We were done by 930 and the Missus decided that She wanted Vientiane Lao Thai, so we drove over to Garden Grove for an early lunch. We then headed off to Rowland Heights to buy some snacks and other stuffs. We got back during the early afternoon and walked the mile or so to downtown, did some shopping, and scoped out a few more restaurants. In the end, we decided to have dinner at one of the places that was both on my "list" and had been recommended by Elmomonster. Sapphire Laguna; which was also a block away from our hotel.

The place was booked up; but we took some seats at the bar; which turned out to be an excellent decision. There's a Happy Hour menu, in addition to the regular menu at bar, even on weekends. The lead Bartender was an awesome young man named Paul. He was so friendly and it would turn out quite a mixologist. The Missus started with a glass of white wine and I had a Macallan 12.

The menu at Sapphire is very….well, global fusion.

We started with the Octopus Aguachile.

The pulpo was very tender and the Missus loved the avocado. It was, of course, bracingly sour, but also quite salty. This was not bad at all.

I saw the Burmese Fermented Tea Salad on the menu and had to try that. The presentation was very "Burma Superstar" if you know what I mean.

I eagerly mixed everything together. This was not bad; though it did miss the mark a bit; it was sour, though for some reason, it lacked the bitter-savory-slightly tanic tones that make tea leaf salad so addictive. The tomatoes weren't ripe enough to add acidity and there was too much lettuce in comparison to the laphet. Still, like the octopus, this wasn't bad.

At about this time, we'd gotten to know the two local guys sitting next to us on the bar. They were really friendly and we had a nice chat about local restaurants and bars….they both snorted when I mentioned the Rooftop Lounge…."it's only for tourists!" "And so crowded….." They seemed to know the bar staff quite well. I'm guessing they were regulars. About this time, the really busy, but friendly bartender, asked me if I wanted another drink. I said sure, but wondered if he could make me something….I described my tastes, smokey, smooth, bourbon or mezcal, bitters….. And he came up with the perfect cocktail for me…..all my favorite flavors in balance. It was amazing!

I asked him what the name of this cocktail was, and was told "it has no name….I just made it up for you right now". Awesome.

The Missus was still a bit hungry, so just for the heck of it, I ordered the Sonoran Dog off the Happy Hour menu. The Missus just loved this.

I mean, the bun and onions were just decoration. The Missus loved the snap and flavor of the hot dog; which had a mild spice to it; smoky, with a light oregano and perhaps cumin tones….the bacon didn't hurt at all either.

She loved it so much, I ordered another….. and also another "Paul's a Genius"….when Paul asked me what that was, I told him, "I just named that cocktail you made for me!" He cracked up. During a pause in the action, we had a nice chat. He had worked for a while in Seattle and made some recommendations for our next trip up there.

We loved the folks at Sapphire. And the bartender….and that (those) cocktail(s) was perhaps the highlight of the trip for me. We'd made the right choice for dinner.

Sapphire Laguna
1200 S, Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

We had no plans for the rest of the evening. Yes, I know the Pageant of the Masters was going on, but we just wanted to relax, without crowds and such.

We walked south along Coast Highway, past all the hotels and motels…..and headed down to the beach at Woods Cove…..it was beautiful.

The next morning we headed out early. We had lunch reservations and also needed to do a bit more shopping in the SGV.

We'd had a nice relaxing time in Laguna Beach….it's not quite our kind of crowd there; but all the locals and folks working were very nice. I'm glad we had a chance to check things out.

And those sunsets……

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Vientiane Lao Thai Restaurant Revisited (Garden Grove)

August 26, 2019 mmm-yoso Lao Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

We were in the OC and it felt like a bazillion degrees. It was 10 in the morning and we were getting hungry, so where to go? I had a couple places in mind; though it was just too hot for most of what I had in mind. The Missus had a favorite of Hers, Song Long in mind. And then it came to Her….what would be perfect on a hot and humid day; it had been a while since we'd been to Vientiane; no not the city (though we loved it there); but Vientiane Thai Laos, which we had first tried in 2009 and really enjoyed. So, we drove on over to Westminster Avenue and the strip mall that hosts this little restaurant. Man, has parking always been so bad in this strip mall?

Anyway, the restaurant has changed over the years; it looks much more up to date, though we were hoping that the food would still be the same.

The young lady who served us was adorable, so sweet, and nice.

And of course we started with what was perhaps my favorite version of Nem Khao outside of Vientiane (the city).

Everything was so sparkling fresh. The Missus loved the amount of pork skin and sour sausage in the dish. I wasn't so thrilled as this was not quite as good as what I'd had here before. I thought the rice, instead of being crisp, was on the harder, more chewy side….not bad mind you; just not as crispy, though it was crunchy as what I'd had here on previous visits. There was till that nice sour-sausage-smoky-savory thing going on; but it didn't have the light, faint coconut flavor I recalled.

The Missus wanted Her favorite dish here; the Koong Chae Nam Pa, raw shrimp salad.

These days; the wonderful garlic-lime-fish sauce-chili sauce is now served on the side. Of course it was poured over everything. The shrimp were chilled, with just the amount of toothsomeness you'd want. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and sweet and tangy. This was every bit as good as what we remembered.

The Missus also wanted Her Lao Style Papaya Salad.

By the time my attention went to this dish, the Missus had almost devoured the whole thing. Not as much salted crab as I recall; but man, this was so perfectly funky and savory; with a stiff spiciness….and again those tomatoes; though this time it had been perfectly bruised in the mortar and was so tender and sweet!

We had decided to add one more dish for the meal and asked the young lady for a suggestion. She recommended the beef salad. Asked how we'd like it done, I said "raw"….she looked up in surprised and said, "are you sure?" And I said, that's how it is traditionally, right? To which she nodded……and it turned out to be the right decision.

And it turned out to be the right decision. Unlike other versions where the meat is minced or chopped and served; this one was pounded in the mortar, making the texture wonderfully tender; like a good tartare. The rice powder added a nice nuttiness; the citrus the acid. The real bonus was the tripe which was surprisingly soft and buttery.

This was just the perfect meal for a hot and humid day. While other tables were getting pad thai and curries (and one dude seemed so hungry he was eating a plain bowl of rice!); we were cooling off with traditional Lao dishes.

It's good to know Vientiane Thai Laos Restaurant is still doing well nearly ten years since we first visited.

Vientiane Lao Thai Restaurant
10262 Westminster Ave
Garden Grove,CA92843
Hours:
Mon      11am – 9pm
Tues     10am – 9pm
Thurs    10am – 9pm
Fri- Sat 10am – 10pm
Sunday   10am – 9pm
Closed on Wednesdays