Road Trip – Page 25

Las Vegas Road Trip: NFR vacation and some meals

December 12, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Las Vegas, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food centric blog, often with stories leading up to the reasons for the food. That's what's happening today. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are busy with 'research' for their food posts. Last week, Cathy mentioned she would be leaving on a vacation soon. She went and returned and now is blogging about her days out of town.

National Finals Rodeo, the best of the best. The top 15 cowboys from North America in each of seven events compete against each other in a rodeo a day for ten days. On the tenth day (this Saturday), the winner amongst winners receives a gold belt buckle in addition to their cash winnings. It's on the GAC channel, but last year the tenth day was broadcast on ESPN.

Before the rodeo starts, there's the Star Spangled banner, a prayer, a song by a famous Country Artist and the competitors line up and tip their hats to the crowd. The events are over in two hours.

Ms. T and I drive out here every year (and have for nine years now) for a "girls weekend" of relaxation, shopping and Rodeo. You can see splashes of pink on the cowboys and/or their horses as well as in the crowd because we were here on Day 5 of the Rodeo, "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night.

My photos demonstrate the speed of timed events and not much else; the iPhone isn't quite sophisticated.

The Thomas and Mack Arena is surrounded with Sponsor booths and advertising.

The interior has a varied selection of food and adult beverage choices.

This booth caught my eye since I was looking for a low carb choice for a snack. This had sales of macaroni and cheese, chili and macaroni, chili dogs and also sold a cup of chili- for $3!

Meaty and with beans and a good tomato broth, topped with cheese and onions (no extra charge), this was a really satisfying snack. Chili and Rodeo also seems 'right'.

Ms. T and I had rooms reserved at Green Valley Ranch Resort, in Henderson.

The hotel, spa and casino are a nice respite for us.

After checking into our rooms, we met in the casino and walked across the street, through "The District" and across the main road to a Whole Foods store, where we each purchased snacks. \

The Protein bars and pecans and almonds were brought from home, as was the tea. Inside the box was from the prepared foods/serve yourself/by-the pound chicken adobo, which was delicious!

We went to Cowboy Christmas, a free-admission gift show, the following morning. Many purchases were made and events and giveaways enjoyed.

That first evening, I wandered into the casino area, where there is a"Food Court" and (of course) found a Starbucks, which took the place of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf location a month ago.

The Capriotti's storefront in the Food Court caught my eye, with the 'breakfast' signage. I asked, and they said I could order a breakfast sandwich, even at 8 p.m..

I love being able to watch short order cooks…

Egg, cheese and genoa salami on a toasted Kaiser roll ($3.27). Excellent. Quite large and very, very tasty. I need to find out of the Capriotti's around here does breakfast; the menu looked good.

Every hotel has a 24 hour restaurant.

The Grand Cafe, inside Green Valley Ranch has a special menu from midnight until 6 a.m.

This is the most expensive menu item ($5.99) -steak, eggs(poached), hash browns and toast (rye). Coffee is extra, and necessary at this hour. The NY strip steak is a real NY strip and quite large and was perfectly cooked medium-rare, as I had ordered.

Of course, Ms. T and I also at at Feast (Link to restaurants in the hotel) the all-you-can-eat buffet, where I enjoyed a plate of mains (liver and onions, chicken picatta, egg drop soup and spicy eggplant), a plate of salads (ranch salad, egg salad, mandarin beets, sweet potato salad and pear Bleu cheese salad) and my 'carby' dessert plate (a cannoli and mashed potatoes with gravy). The food and pastries prepared in this hotel are exceptional.

At 6 a.m., a coffee service is set up in the lobby area. We were on our way home at 6:30. The outside temperature was 15.

The drive home was uneventful, except for a portion of the I-15 and I-215 split, with high winds and large profile vehicles parked on the sides of the freeway.

Home before noon.

I hope everyone has the time to take a relaxing vacation during this hectic time of year.

Roadtrip: Shanghailander Palace (Hacienda Heights)

December 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Xiao Long Bao

I took some time off at the end of last week. We had an appointment in LA and since I'd been working pretty hard over the last couple of months, I thought it would be good to take an extended roadtrip. Our first day would be in our old neighborhood of Rowland/Hacienda Heights and then we'd move further "North" for a few days.

Since this was a multi-day trip, we stopped at HK Plaza to stock up on some snacks and tea for our trip.

We also took the time to see what was going on here…..

We weren't too hungry, but of course we also didn't want to squander a lunch, so we headed to a place that caught the Missus' attention the last time we stayed in the area. According to what I've read, Shanghailander Palace was aiming to be the area's equivalent of Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Restaurant. So we stopped by to have a light lunch.

Arriving at almost 2 pm on a Wednesday, we were shocked to see how busy the place was! The crowd was composed of mostly older folks and larger groups. I really could have done without the middle aged woman dressed almost "cosplay" style in a short plaid skirt, blouse, and schoolgirl like sweater….yikes, it gave me the heebies!

The service was rather slow, but it could be understood since the place was slammed.

We started with the Xun Yu – "Shanghai Style Smoked fish", which as I've often explained, isn't really smoked. In what seems like the "new style" of Hu Cai (滬菜), this is served warm (deep fried after marinating) rather than as a cold dish.

I enjoyed this version as it was light, mildly "winey", not too sweet (though still too sweet for the Missus), with a nice soy flavor. Even though this was obviously fresh water fish; it lacked the muddy flavor I find unpleasant. This was much better than the version at Shanghai Number 1. I also thought the portion size was nice for an appetizer.

I will say that the tea we ordered – Ti Guanyin, a favorite of mine was just plain insipid.

I didn't see one of my favoite dishes; jellied pork on the menu, so we went with the mutton version instead.

I loved the texture, but the sauce provided was just wrong. I ended up opting for black vinegar instead.

Of course we had to get Xiao Long Bao. We went for the Pork and Crab version.

These were average at best. The tuft at the top was too hard, the wrappers ok….no leakage here, if perhaps a bit too thick and gummy. I thought the filling had decent flavor; not too sweet, but you could definitely make out the crab. Not enough soup though…..hardly any soup.

Some of the other dishes….stuff we could order if we could handle left-overs like the Braised Pork looked really good. So I think we'll probably be back.

Overall, this was a nice start to our roadtrip, which would be taking us North, culminating with dinner in San Mateo at Michelin Starred Wakuriya. Man was I going to enjoy this roadtrip!

Shanghailander Palace
1695 South Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

Comfort Food Roadtrip: Qing Dao Bread Food (Monterey Park) and Shen Yang Restaurant (San Gabriel)

December 8, 2013 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We hadn't been down to the SGV since before our vacation in May. I've been pretty busy with work and had been craving some jiaozi (dumplings) for a while. Unfortunately, there isn't a place in San Diego that makes anything remotely close to a decent jiaozi, xiao long bao, or even dim sum. It's a shame. I was missing jiaozi so much that I actually went to Dump(ling) Inn, which was a big mistake. The Missus also wanted some hearty comfort food as well. So a couple of weeks ago, we headed on up to the SGV.

Qing Dao Bread Food:

Folks that read the blog long enough know that while I love a good jiaozi, I'm partial to the Shandong style; specifically QingDao style dumpling. The wrappers have to be rolled by hand, those edges have to be thin enough so that the texture of the wrapper will be even after folding. The texture of the wrapper has to have a bit of stretch, almost like a good al dente noodle. It should glisten when cooked. I know, blah, blah, blah……

What it basically comes down to is that I enjoy the mutton jiaozi from Qing Dao Bread Food. It's the style I enjoy the best and also the city the Missus is from. The Missus always laughs after talking to the guy here….according to Her; his accent is "totally, one hundred-percent Qing Dao" which has its own unique accent ( "Qingdao Hua" (青岛话)).

Since we were folding two meals into one, this was going to be something light….all the Missus wanted was millet porridge, which is something like 50 cents here.

I'm not a big fan of this, but for the Missus, it's comfort food.

Over the years, we've noticed that there are new specials offered; many of them examples of typical, traditional, Qing Dao style "soul food". On this visit; the Missus and I were amazed to see housemade Chinese Sausage. Not just any Chinese sausage, but stuff that really looked like the style made in Qing Dao. So we just had to try it.

According to the sign, it's a "special, secret recipe". I can say this though, the flavors are pretty much spot on. While I'm not certain if the attributes of this sausage is unique to Qing Dao, or if it is more of a regional style, I will say that the strong flavor of wine in which the pork is marinated in, and the five spice was there. In fact, the five spice had the potent fragrance and flavor of the stuff from Qing Dao; which is what I use at home. Interesting tidbit; in QingDao, you don't go to the market to buy five spice. Rather, you go to the pharmacy to get it! In terms of texture; it wasn't quite as "air dried" as I'm used to, making it more moist. Also, the meat was cut in larger chunks. It was also a bit more salty as well. Still, this was a taste of home for the Missus and comfort food for me. It's obviously hand made and not cheap at $20 a pound ($4 each), but totally worth it.

Of course I had to have the Lamb Jiaozi:

I won't go too much into detail, since I've written about this, several times before. I will say, that on this visit, while still good, it wasn't quite up there with what I'd had previously. That sheen was missing; the wrapper was a bit more brittle, lacking the slight pull I'm used too. It's still among my favorites though.

Qing Dao Bread Food is an interesting shop; they were quite busy on this morning, I think they've found their niche, the soul food of Qing Dao. Lots of guys coming in and buying mantou (which is the classic starch for the sausage) on this morning. I'm sure we'll be dropping by to pick up some sausage on future trips to the area.

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

Shen Yang Restaurant (San Gabriel location):

**** Shen Yang Restaurant has closed

I'd been wanting to check out Shen Yang for a while. Since we were in the mood for the hearty type of Northern Chinese, we headed up to Shen Yang Restaurant.

There's something very "old school" SGV about this place. The service is pretty much all business, the customers older Chinese….not a single word of English heard from anyone other than us the whole visit.

We started up with the Stewed Pork Bones (Jiang Gutou).

There something so wonderful about picking through tasty pieces of meat, tendon, and other connective tissue around bones. The flavor of the bones have been passed to the meat; the stickiness of the tendon and other connective tissues, along with the varying texture of the "good bits" make this a great dish with a couple of beers. The flavor was straight ahead and I could probably pull this off at home, but this wasn't bad at all.

Since we're talking about Shenyang style food here, I had to try the Suan Cai. So we got the Shredded Pork with Pickled Sour Napa.

Not the prettiest looking dish, but this was very good. The suan cai was prepped well; neither salty, nor too sour. The texture was spot on. The Missus was told that they make their own suan cai, which takes about a month. This was very warming and hearty. The portion size was typical of Northern Chinese, very generous. The pork was tender and the flavors for this type of dish well balanced. Think of it as a sauerkraut stir-fry if you will.

We'll be back to try the suan cai yang rou soon. The prices are reasonable, though I'm not certain that unless you've been exposed to this type of cuisine, you'll really enjoy it. For me; it's hearty, comfort food.

Shen Yang Restaurant
137 S San Gabriel Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776

2014 Rose Parade Float Road Testing-Baja Ranch Supermarket-Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

October 27, 2013 Cathy Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Markets & Grocers, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food-centric blog. There are numerous ways to find and acquire ready made food and ingredients for meals at home. Today Cathy will share a couple of those ways along with sharing a bit of a quick Road Trip from San Diego. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are relaxing today.

The Mister and I woke up late yesterday morning. It was 4:45 a.m. and the dogs had to be fed and let out, we dressed quickly and were out the door at 5:07 a.m.. There was a low fog overhanging the freeway the entire drive. We got to the Red Hill exit from the 5 (in Tustin) around 6:25 a.m. and stopped at the Starbucks for coffee then drove up the street to Cream Pan and picked up three hot, fresh pastries. The cinnamon pecan roll ($3), which is filled with crispy, whole pecans; a raspberry bottomed cheescake in a paper cup ($2) and a ham and cheese croissant ($2.50)…light breakfast to eat in the car. The freeway entrance is just around the corner.

In about 45 minutes, we were in Pasadena, parked, crossed the Metro tracks and the Rose Parade float Road Test was already underway. The eHarmony.com float (the first dot com float ever in a Rose Parade) was going to be tested with people on board. (During the parade, Natalie Cole will be on the float, singing along the parade route).What will end up being the last float in the parade was also being tested- it looks like a football…and it looks like two GIANT screens will be inserted into those frames…we don't know, but speculate may be playing highlights of either prior Rose Bowl Games (2014 will be the 100th anniversary of the Rose Bowl Football game) or of prior parades (2014 will be the 125th Tournament of Roses parade). We'll have to wait and see… This VERY large float will be one of the first you will see in the parade- it is by Honda, the sponsor. we suspect it will look somewhat futuristic, because

it will be preceeded by these five smaller (powed by Honda motocycles and one driver, no 'viewer' inside) floats, depicting various "Dreams Come True"-the parade theme-along time… The famous WWII poster (and some sort of circular float behind it).

A sort of Model T vehicle.

A construct of the Spirit of St. Louis. There's also a small diorama depicting Man landing on the moon.

Other floats tested were in their basic stages… The City of Beverly Hills will be celebrating 100 years as a City and will have a float in the 2014 Rose Parade.

The RFD-TV float looks like a large barn-like dance floor will be on the front of the float, with smaller buildings behind. I'm interested in seeing how this ultimately will appear. The front piece, made with heavy steel beams (instead of rebar) is unique.

We left the road testing area, and had no plans for breakfast, drove up to Orange Grove Boulevard and stopped at Baja Ranch Market, which I only mentioned slightly in another float road test post last November. We wanted to grab another quick bite. When you first walk into this medium sized Mexican/Latin American Market, you are in the Bakery area.

It is right around the corner, next to an extensive steam tray area.

We picked up 1/2 lb of those fresh chicharron from the end tray.

and also asked for one of each flavor of the empanadas- the ham and cheese and the ground beef (which is made with corse ground hamburger, hard boiled egg, olives and raisins; a very traditional and wonderful flavor combination), sometimes called 'picadillo'.

We also picked up a few other items, went to the car and started driving East while munching on an empanada.

Baja Ranch Supermarket 475 Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena 91101 website

Parking on a side street, we had a short walk to the Saturday Pasadena Farmer's Market on Sierra Madre Boulevard (see Pasadena High to the right? The set up of booths is in the parking lot of the school.) This is the street where the Rose Parade floats line up at the end of the parade route.

I have become enamoured with young, small, tender jicama ever since I bought it here. It is so good, a bit sweet and easily a craving without needing to be mixed with other foods or topped with Tajin.

The autumn vegetables and fruits are in abundance. This Farmers market is central to so many farms and really is the nicest one I've encountered other than the one I went to when I was young..

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!

Andy’s Coffee Shop & 2014 Rose Parade road test & Pasadena Farmers Market (Road Trip)

September 22, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy busy busy right now, so Cathy is writing a post for today.

Yes, another road test for some floats that will participate in the 2014 Tournament of Roses parade was conducted on Saturday and The Mister and I woke early so we could be there at 7 a.m. Since this is a food blog, the first part of this post is about our breakfast that morning.

Andy's Coffee Shop is located on Colorado Boulevard; it's easy to miss (parking is in back and we are always looking for cars on the street to see if a place is open).

Inside, it's a step back to the 1950's. In fact, a few episodes of Mad Men were filmed here.

There are photographs signed by famous stars of the past. The large photos are of crowds camped in front of the storefront to watch the Rose Parade.

The Mister ordered French Toast ($5). It's made with fresh bread, unlike when we make it at home with days old bread. So very good- crunchy on the exterior and creamy soft on the interior.

I ordered a bacon and egg sandwich on rye toast ($7.25). Really really good and served with crispy hash browns.

This was a very good meal and we enjoyed sitting at the "U" shaped lunch counter in the center of the room, seeing the hustle and bustle of the workers: the booths and tables were taken.

Andy's Coffee Shop 1234 Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91106 (626)793-0825 Mon-Sat 7-3, Sun 7-2

Before our breakfast on this overcast morning, we were on Raymond Street

The colorful float with them "So Near and Yet Safari" is very animated with the gazelles racing, giraffes bowing their necks and elephant ears flapping as well as water flowing from the top of the 'rock' formation. Behind that float, you can see the "Banner" float- which will introduce the 2014 parade with it's theme of "Dreams Come True".

Here is the City of Glendale float, covered in its cocoon. Last month, it was only out of rebar and a lot of the design wasn't very clear.

The CIty of Los Angeles float was also in it's rebar form last month. Now that it's covered and partly painted, the details are emerging.

Above, you can see the City of Los Angeles float in its collapsed state (so it can fit into the Phoenix Decorating barn as well as under street and signal lights along the parade route) and you can also see the head of the Chinese dragon, which is painted with its colors and ready to be decorated. All items covering the float must be natural, alive or had been alive and in case glue fails or items are washed off by rain, you'll still see color when watching the floats in person or on television. I think it's nice that the dragon will be on the 'other' side of the float- away from the television cameras-people sitting on that side of the street sometimes don't get to see a lot of the float details.

After our breakfast, we stopped at our usual Saturday morning Pasadena trek- the Farmers Market, held in the parking lot of Pasadena High on Sierra Madre Boulevard.

You can see the cloud covered Sierra Madres in the distance…very overcast. That's the booth where we always buy a loaf of seed filled, corn meal bottomed rye bread for $4.75. It's so good.

This market is my favorite out here; it's busy and the vendors are knowledgeable and the variety is amazing.

We drive North on the 5 and home on the 15…where we passed a convoy of about ten Marine LAVs (Light Armored Vehicles; they float)…another Saturday of fun. Hope you are having a good weekend!

Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles (and the 3rd 2014 Rose Parade float Road Test)-Pasadena

August 20, 2013 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are again, at mmm-yoso!!! the food blog. Kirk is really really busy today and so is Ed(from Yuma) so Cathy is writing about another one of her eating adventures.

It was a foggy August Saturday, The Mister and I woke before 4 a.m., let the dogs out, secured the house and started driving North. I'll start with breakfast (but really this was our fifth stop of the day).

Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles has been "pecking around since 1975" according to the signage. It opens at 8 a.m. daily and there seems to be a constant flow and lineup of people from about 8:25 forward.

The Pasadena location is next to a KFC, across the street from a Popeye's and a Church's- all chicken centric eating establishments.

We were seated at the second to last empty table, in the rear of a former Pizza Hut building. Decor is simple, with photographs and posters, many of the staff with President Obama, taken when he stopped here. The above photo is Louis Armstrong, New Orleans native and American Jazz trumpeteer virtuoso. His contribution to Jazz is unsurpassed.

Condiments on the table are simple and include Louisiana Red Rooster hot sauce.

The menu is very simple; only two pages. You can get eggs and call it breakfast, or not, at any time of the day.

The Mister ordered the C- 'Stymie's Choice': fried chicken livers, grits, two eggs (over easy and nicely runny) a fresh hot buttery/not flakey biscuit and gravy with onions. ($11.70). Each item was really fresh, flavorful and cooked in the proper manner.

I decided to try…the 13- 'Carol C.': a fried chicken breast and a waffle ($8.95). The waffles are made with Roscoe's own mix, are not sweet and have a bit of 'chew' to them…really good. The chicken breast was perfectly and freshly fried-crispy thin layer of nice flavored batter- and not dry. This was quite a bit of food and we took home some of the livers because there were so many.

I couldn't take photos of all the people inside and outside and so put my phone away. As I was pulling out of the parking space, another car was waiting…and as I started to drive out of the lot a BIG black horse, with noisy shoes, and a rider wearing a black cowboy hat came trotting at a fast pace toward the car, passed us by and continued. It was surreal.

So, earlier that morning -beginning at 7- were Rose Parade float road tests at Phoenix Decorating. Above, the 2014 City of Los Angeles entry. You can make out the Space Shuttle that was moved there last year. Some of the other details will become clearer at the next road test.

The Lutheran Hour Ministries float is all painted, so there's an outline for all the various dried and fresh items to be placed. I beleive the 'windows' will have a 'stained glass' look…You can see the church steeple is in its descended position- so the float can pass under the various signal lights, street lights and other obstacles along the five mile parade route.

The Donate Life float, "Light Up the World" depicts various lanterns. Seated on the float and walking alongside it during the parade will be families of organ donors and donor recipients. As you can see, the float was road tested with a full weight load on board.

Trader Joe's entry this year is titled "Relish Your Dreams", going along with the theme of the 125th Rose Parade, "Dreams Come True"…and this float seems to depict an old fashioned "relish tray" along with cheese wheels and wedges – and pickles, crackers, olives, honey and other snacking items.

Now, recall that I mentioned that the floats along the parade route need to be able to fit under signal lights, street lights, etc?

I took photos of the Trader Joe's float hydralics being tested. You can see the how the mechanics of these floats have to be in working order…

The doorway of the Phoenix Decorating Rose Palace barn is the maximum dimensions that a float can be.

The City of Glendale's entry depicts "Meatball", a bear that made headlines in that City last year.

This is the Artist's rendition of how the float will appear on January 1, 2014.

All in all, another busy and exciting Saturday. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles 830 N. Lake Avenue Pasadena (626)791-4890 or (626)791-5097 Website

Bon Epi Patisserie and Café-(Irvine)-Road Trip

August 5, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Orange County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping and reading mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food. Sometimes Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy write about local eating adventures and sometimes they drive to find a place to eat. This post is about two of Cathy's driving adventures, because after her first visit, she just had to bring The Mister here.

This post is a continuation of an eating adventure which began very early one Sunday across the parking lot. The first bakery we hit (85C) is Taiwanese and this bakery, Bon Epi, is Korean. CC and I were driving North with an ultimate purpose (to meet and hear Marvin Gapultos speak about his newly released The Adobo Road cookbook). It was so early, we were missing crowds and finding fresh baked goods at an interesting variety of ethnic bakeries in Irvine, Costa Mesa, Tustin and Pasadena.

Several posters (corner of which is in the bottom left of this photo above) advertising macarons, are all around this mall (Diamond Jamboree). This is going to be a post of the first of *many* macaron posts…after this visit, macarons have became a snack obsession.

I purchase pain d'epi, wheat stalk shaped bread, at Major Market in Escondido whenever I am there…being wheat stalk shaped means it can break apart into rolls and I find that convenient. I figured Bon Epi would sell many breads and compared to other bakeries, it does (that's a whole table of just breads to the left when you walk in).

There is a small eat in area inside and quite a few tables outside.

The baked pastry area is fairly small, but kept constantly filled with fresh choices.

The refrigerated cases to the other side of the cash register hold a beautiful array of colorful macarons as well as other refrigerated colorful sweets.

The macaron (not to be confused with a coconut macaroon) is delicate, small and packed with flavor. The 'gateaux sec' is the dry cake (and most colorful part you see). It's basically a meringue: egg white whipped with sugar and crushed almond/almond flour and usually that's all the flavor in it. It's a light and crispy crust with a softer interior cookie. The fillings of the macaron are varied in flavor and texture.

This was cc's purchase that first day. The box costs $1 or 50¢ extra, but is a nice keepsake and presentation as well as protectant for the delicate bites.

My purchase that first day here consisted of the pistachio and the white chocolate peach. The pistachio was very nicely nutty flavored, lightly whipped and went well with the almond 'cookie' exterior. The peach was basically peach colored and basically filled with thick white chocolate. It was very sweet and not what I like.

CC bought this peanut bread (topped with crushed peanuts; it looks so good) and almond Danish stick; I got the Biscuit Cream seen on the left; it was a very generous filled and delicate cake-like pastry.

When I came back with The Mister, we also exercised restraint, knowing we were on a bakery centric morning and got the ham and cheese croissant here (to compare with the one I had just purchased at 85C) and The Mister chose a salted caramel macaron…which was thickly filled with a heavy real salted caramel. It lasted a while because a tiny bite just filled your mouth with flavor and the chewiness of a soft caramel.

I breifly mentioned in another post that I am also currently infaturated with ham and cheese filled breads. I do think the ham and cheese croissant here is the best I've ever had…so far. Maybe because it was still warm, maybe it was the chunks of white cheese or maybe the thick and flavorful slice of ham…or the combination of all three. (See the macaron on the table? We each had a small bite of it and wanted to savor and stretch out that flavor…)

Bon Epi Patisserie and Café 2750 Alton Parkway, Suite 101 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 251-0070

Open seven days 7 a.m.-midnight Website

Another Roadtrip Two-Fer: Pho Tau Bay (Santa Ana) and a revisit to Ngu Binh (Westminster)

July 10, 2013 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

After striking out a couple of times when ordering Banh Cuon from Nhat Vy, the Missus was, well, how to put it……a bit bitter, perhaps? So we decided to jump in the car and head to "the OC" for another one of the those "two stop" roadtrips. Recent trips to Banh Cuon Tay Ho have left us less than satisfied, so I thought a visit to Pho Tau Bay was in order.

Pho Tau Bay:

A very nondescript, one of a million, type shop in (of course) a strip mall. This one actually in Santa Ana and kind of on the outskirts of all that is Little Saigon, at least for me.

A look at the interior and you quickly realize that this could be but one of hundreds of restaurants in the area. The service is to the point, you sit, are dealt a menu, and you order.

There's really only two items to get here and really only two basic savory items on the menu; pho and banh cuon, which we love….."do what you do and (hopefully) do it well".

Of course we came here for the Banh Cuon…Dac Biet – Lon (large – $7.25).

If you're after a huge plate of thick banh cuon topped with all sorts of fried stuffs, you've come to the wrong place. The banh cuon here is wonderfully thin, tender, with a nice stretch, served at a nice warm temp. The two types of cha lua were fine, but I've had better. It's all served with blanched bean sprouts, very nice, "not from a bottle" fried shallots, and pork sung (pork floss). And even though, like Kirbie has said, that I'm perhaps "the one non-vegetarian she knows that doesn't care for pork sung"……it was not bad here…really Kirbie, really!

The Missus and I each had an order.

Pho Tau Bay L.T.T.
3610 W 1st St
Santa Ana, CA 92703

Isn't it nice when a dish takes you back to another time and place? No, it wasn't as good, but good enough to trigger some images…..

You know what? I thought this pork sung was ok too……

Ngu Binh:

The Missus had also been craving the Banh Nam from Ngu Binh. So, of course this was our second "snack" of the roadtrip.

You can read all about that stuff in my previous post. All I have to say about it is, that the Missus loves the rather thin smear of rice flour dough and the flavor of the banana leaves.

As for me….well FOY (Friend of Yoso) "TFD" mentioned the Com Suon Tom Riem….all I knew was this had rice and shrimp, but I took a flier and chanced it. This was a combination of a wonderful high – the rice was perfect, fragrant, and hot. The spare ribs, aren't really "grilled" but braised to a nice tender, but not falling apart stage. The flavor is the wonderful salty-sweet that elevates pork.

The low was that the shrimp was very one note in flavor; spicy and that's it. No nuance, no balance. It was also fishy, overcooked, and tasted like it had been kept past its "due date", if you know what I mean. I'd love to have that pork again. But no on the shrimp.

Still the Missus got Her Banh Nam….and Her Banh Cuon. All was good in the world, at least for the next few hours!

Ngu Binh Restaurant
14072 Magnolia St
Westminster, CA 92683

Getting to The Adobo Road Cookbook Tour. {The first stop: 85C-Irvine} Road Trip!

June 26, 2013 Cathy Bakery, Caffeine Fix, Orange County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy write about adventures in eating. Today, the beginning of one of Cathy's adventures.

In May, I received an e-mail from the LA Times about an upcoming book signing in Pasadena by Marvin Gapultos, whose Blog (cleverly named Burnt Lumpia Blog) I have bookmarked on this machine. Marvin's cookbook, The Adobo Road Cookbook a Filipino food journey -from food blog to food truck and beyond, looked interesting to me, and I saved that email. Later that week, I heard from my friend and fellow blogger, cc, who asked me if I'd want to do a roadtrip with her…because she had already purchased several copies of the cookbook wanted to meet Marvin and have the cookbooks signed by him. Road Trip!

At 7 a.m. on Sunday June 9, cc was at my front door and I had my car filled with fuel and ready. We each had our own coolers so we could transport/bring home anticipated food purchases safely. The book signing was scheduled for 3 p.m.. Yes, there would be a few (nine) stops for food on this 14+ hour day. This post is a link to cc's version about our first stop.

85c Bakery Cafe, a Taiwanese bakery of international franchises. I've heard of it, been asked about it but had never experienced it. Now I have done so, *twice* in less than two weeks. {I had to go back with The Mister…}

When cc and I arrived here just before 9 a.m., we missed an onslaught of customers by less than five minutes. When I brought The Mister here, we were in the parking lot five minutes before the doors opened. I really try to avoid crowds. The above refrierated glass case holds cakes and cake slices…

Cubby holes of various fresh baked sweets and savories line the far wall. Cubbies of shelving about half that size line the two adjoining walls. They are are replenished constantly and announced loudly ("fresh bread!!!"). The individual-doored spaces are emptied quickly most of the day with a steady line (an outside the door and into the parking lot line) of customers. The photo above shows the small floor refrigerator centering the shelving and it's filled with prepacked whipped cream and cheesecake filled pastries.

The choices are almost overwhelming and because of the many people picking and choosing pastries, it's necessary to grab what you want as soon as you see it (trays and tongs are at the door as you walk in).

There are two cash registers here; the one to the right will put your pastries into individual bags and you can order beverages and pay, or someone with you can go the register on the left where only beverages can be ordered and they'll probably be ready about the time you are finished paying for pastries.

These were the purchases cc and I made. The sausage cheese pastry (a soft bread dough) and the tomato cheese pastry (a puff pastry dough) became 'breakfast' for us. The beverages are iced sea salt coffee and iced sea salt green tea…beverages I saw a few times this day but still never have seen in San Diego County. The other items are a mango bread (new item here advertised in a poster "Celebrate Mango Season"), blueberry danish, maple brick toast and a multigrain berry bread loaf (which remained soft into the following morning).

This was the 'breakfast' The Mister and I had -cream puffs (real whipped cream; a heavier dough than at the County Fair cream puffs); we were told to refrigerate as soon as possible…as if those would make it back to San Diego) and a ham and cheese croissant. I got a medium iced sea salt coffee ($2.75) for The Mister and also small Americano ($1.80) just to compare the taste differences.

Everything here has been fresh/still warm and what made it to the next day remained fresh. The salted beverages are different and not crazy salty…they are basically a 'regular' beverage topped with sea salt foam that you either can stir into the regular beverage (by swirling; the beverages are in paper cups topped with that hermetic seal you've seen in Boba Shops) or you get the salt at the end of your drink when the sea salt foam has descended to the bottom of the cup: I haven't developed a craving for those beverages…yet.

85c is a good place to stop, but I don't think I would wait in a very long line if I lived here…there are so many alternatives- even within the Diamond Jamboree Center-just across the parking lot; our second stop this day.

85C Cafe and Bakery 2700 Alton Parkway, Suite 123 Irvine, CA 92606 (949) 553-8585 US website

2014 Rose Parade float road test #1-and quick breakfast at Lucky Boy (Pasadena)

June 1, 2013 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is not only a food blog, but also a blog about events surrounding food adventures. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are both busy enjoying their adventures and Cathy is sharing her latest adventure, which involve a meal.

Yes, it's that time already. The Tournament of Roses has planned its January 1, 2014 Parade (with a theme of "Dreams Come True") and invited participants, who designed floats around that theme for the Parade and the renderings have come to life at the Phoenix Decorating Company's Rose Palace and seven floats had their first of three road tests early this morning.

When we arrived on Raymond Street around 7 a.m., the seven floats were lined up and inspectors were at each one, checking various hydraulics, mechanics and other safety items.

The City of Alhambra's 'Monster Truck' is taking on its basic shape.

The Rotary International 2014 parade float looks like it will end up being colorful as well as playful. Lollipops???

The Lions Club International is a small replica of "Matteo's Dream" , a park for children of all abilities that's in Concord, California.

The Kiwanis 2014 float, "Bridging Children's Dreams" has taken shape. The tree is in the position it needs to be in to be able to fit under street and signal lights on the parade route. The dove flying from the tip of the tree looks like it will be very colorful.

This is the rebar construction of the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Right now, it looks like a teddy bear wearing a cape, pushing off from a a heart at the base of his feet.

The Lutheran Hour Ministries float, with a theme of "Jesus Welcomes All" has this rendition on the internet. It looks like the fauna surrounding the church building will be quite large and colorful. The closer, more colorful float in the above photo is the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs entry. This view is the side the cameras won't show on television during the parade and it still is very colorful and detailed.

The floats took their turns driving down to the end of the street and turning around without incident and before 9 a.m., the frst day of road testing was over. Time for breakfast.

The Mister and I walked over the Metro tracks and one block North on Arroyo to a favorite 24 hour walk up and eat outdoors restaurant.

Predictably, I ordered our usual…

My lettuce, tomato and egg on rye toast ($3.25)…again, perfect.

The one pound three egg, hash browns and bacon burrito ($6.25). Served on the grilled giant tortilla, this was a huge meal. Which we shared…

You see, when we were awake and walking out of the house at 5 a.m., two of our dogs thought we were going for a walk…so we put them in the car and brought them on this road trip.

I hope all of you are having a nice weekend!