mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food and sometimes Kirk or Cathy write about how the acquisition of a meal or snacks came to be. This is one of those posts.
Yes, it's the time of year when the January 1 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade is becoming real.
The Logo, Theme (Celebrating A World of Music, The Universal Language) and President (Alex Aghajanian) of the 2024 Tournament of Roses were announced in January (yes, the Rose Bowl Football Game is the culmination of the Tournament) and preparations for the 135th Rose Parade began.
Designs for floats, centering on the theme, were submitted, approved and construction began. On Saturday, road tests for mechanics and maneuverability of eight floats were conducted at Phoenix Decorating Company in Irwindale. 
The artist rendition of Lions Clubs International entry, "Changing The World Through Music" has 'come to life'.
It's looking very much like the rendition and will have to be tested again, with 'weight' (people) on board. Then it will be ready for decorating, since it is colored in. Colors help the volunteer decorators and also help if there might be rain and some of the natural items used to cover (all visible portions of) the float succumb to the elements.
The 2024 Rotary International entry, "Clean Water-The Music of Life" is still in its basic rebar and wire structure. I can see umbrellas and the cuteness of this float, with the design supporting one the many areas of focus that Rotary serves internationally.
The Petal Pushers and Lutheran Hour Ministries will have its 73rd entry in the Rose Parade in 2024, "Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord". It is the only Christian Themed float in the Parade.
Oddfellows and Rebekahs will be entering this cute, unicorn design, "All We Need Is Love". Did you know that each float plays music along the route? Well, we know the song that will be played on this float!
Kiwanis International is entering "Serving in Harmony", an old fashioned look some long past symbols of music and harmony (Nipper! His Master's Voice! and a Player Piano with a metronomic roll).
The Elks Clubs have another patriotic entry this year. I can see a Fife and Drum Corps and the back of the float looks like fireworks. 
The City of Alhambra is entering this dragon-esque float. 
Here is the base for what will most likely be another magnificent float, entered by Trader Joe's.
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On to the food portion of this post. We started driving South, then East. Then we saw signage.
It looks like a super version of Tokyo Central that we have in the Marukai Complex in San Diego; all under one roof.
It was before 9 a.m.-breakfast time. 
We had to. 
We made our selections, purchased a few other items, paid and found a seat at the front of the store. 
There is a water fountain available, but we had purchased this 2 liter bottle of Jasmine tea (on sale)
Our selections from the Hot Buffet serving trays: Vegetable Croquette, Cheese Tonkatsu, four Fried shrimp, two pieces of Teriyaki Chicken and one 'umami pork rib'. (Total bill for hot food was $14.58)
Of course everything was absolutely fresh and wonderful. It's good to know we can stop here.
Tokyo Central 1420 S. Azusa Ave West Covina Opens 8 a.m. daily
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For those of you wondering, of course we had to stop at Portos; it's only six miles directly South of Phoenix Decorating.
We purchased a loaf of Walnut Raisin bread, and new items- an iced ube matcha tea drink and carrot cake slice. Quite excellent new items.
Porto's Bakery and Cafe 584 S. Sunset Ave West Covina 91790 Opens at 6:30 a.m.
The small signage with an interesting font was intriguing. Tappi's opened in October 2022. 
The menu, more intriguing. There were South of the Border and Mediterranean categories and some items with Japanese names, along with a good breakfast menu, (which has Japanese souffle pancakes as well as German and Ube pancakes available). Fusion? Con-fusion? Simply good food? 
We asked what the 'Soup of the Day' was. The answer was both tomato and broccoli cheese. Yes! One of each, please.
We decided to try the Khachapuri with kielbasa ($12). Plenty of cheese. filling fresh made crusty chewy bread, thin slices of a garlic-y kielbasa. A sizable meal (we took two slices home). 
I had seen Kunafa (crunchy, sweet, cheesy, creamy) at the bottom of the menu and knew I was going to order it. Our nice waitress said they were 'trying something new' and offering the kunafa as a sandwich for $11 (the large piece of kunafa by itself is $10).
Yes. The 'bread' is a sweetbread- an eggy, cardamom flavored, sesame seed topped delight. Separately or together, each bite was wonderful. We did take half of this home, too, to have with coffee.
Located the the mall on the South East corner of Third Avenue at Oxford in the Castle Park area, The Empanada Spot opened in April 2021. 
Step inside, order and pay and your empanada(s) will be cooked fresh to order. 
cc and I chose four savory flavors (there are dessert/sweet flavors available, but neither of us wanted any; we had plans). The price is $4 each.
Soon, a tray with freshly fried, piping hot empanadas and accompanying salsas were brought out to us.
Top left, The OG (a sort of fancy 'picadillo'-(finely chopped marinated steak, tomato sauce, potato) filling with or without olives). Bottom left, Rajas (poblano peppers with corn, onion and cheese). Top right, Chicharron (pork rinds in a red sauce and refried beans). Bottom right, Shrimp and Cheese (shrimp, mozzarella, onion and bell pepper).
We recently were back in the area and stopped in. 
I did not get a photo of the menu, but 
Of course we had to try a combo: Two chicken tenders, waffle, fries and a drink ($13.99).
I was curious about the falafel slider ($4.99)
A fresh made falafel patty with tahini, lettuce, tomato and a pickle on a toasted eggy bun. I really liked this. 
We also ordered a House Salad ($6.99). Mixed greens, cheese, onion, grape tomatoes and cucumbers. We asked for ranch dressing, which was standard and good.
Can't get much more generic than seeing something like this. 
Sure, you could walk up and grab a menu…but walking up and reading the walls can be more fun. 
Walk to the corner, order and pay. Have a seat.
Condiments are brought out and you can hear the sounds of chopping and stir fry happening in the kitchen.
Soon, a large bowl of Wor Won Ton Soup ($11.99) was brought out. Chicken, shrimp and pork filled won tons (dumpling sized) along with a plethora of fresh vegetables made this a great meal in itself.
Every vegetable was fresh and crisp. The shrimp were plump, chicken pieces were moist and quite large and the dumplings/won ton were flavor filled. 
Since this was a first visit, I had to order the Egg Foo Young ($12.99). The chef here had yet another unique way of preparation. 
The patties were batter dipped and fried to a crisp brown color, not filled with bean sprouts but instead, cabbage. Topped with the chicken (you could also order pork or shrimp EFY), ubiquitous peas and carrots and a good (not too salty) gravy, all flavors and textures remained bright throughout the meal.
Lately, The Mister and I are making an effort to stop and enjoy some sort of 'treat' after lunch and the Matcha Cafe Maiko has been on our radar. The flavor of matcha-the finely ground powder of specially processed green tea leaves ("Specially processed" means shade grown for about three weeks before harvest) is unique/ has a strong tannin note and the tea powder has more caffeine than sun-grown leaves. The powder is consumed as a suspension in water or milk, not steeped as a tea leaf is consumed. 
Walk up, order and pay (no cash; cards only) and your order is prepared and your number called out.
The menu boards are straightforward. There are pastries also available to purchase as well as a few items made in the kitchen (bubble waffles, Basque burnt cheesecakes). We are here for the matcha.
A Matcha Frappe (premium matcha blended with ice) and topped with whipped cream ($8) is filled with matcha flavors- a sweet nuttiness, along with a grassy note as well as some slight tannin bitterness..a flavor explosion which is satisfying.
A matcha affogato ($8.90)- an excellent coffee blended with premium matcha and topped with a soft serve swirl of matcha and yuzu ice creams (there are four soft serve ice cream flavors offered daily). We added a waffle cone ($1.50) just because. Multiple flavors and textures. An excellent bit of dessert.
The location in Mission Valley, across the parking lot from the Trader Joe's (at the Northwest corner of Interstate 8 and Mission Center Road), inside the former Fuddruckers, is closest to home, so we stopped here for lunch. 
Clean and organized, with indoor and outdoor seating, it is spacious. 
I decided to try a cup of the Green Lentil Soup ($3.99)-wow! Made with organic lentils, tomato, garlic, carrot, onion, parsley, mint and a vegetable broth, this was a *wonderful* version! All flavors can be tasted, even the mint. I definitely will get this again.
I chose the Falafel Appetizer plate ($9.99) as my main dish. Again-wow! The falafel are made with fresh ground garbanzo beans and various herbs, lightly fried so there is a crisp crust and flavorful fluffy interior. It's served with hummus (also fresh made with garlic and lemon juice) and tzatziki (made with yogurt, cucumber, dill, parsley, mint and garlic) and grilled pieces of pita. So fresh and filled with flavors, plenty for a meal or to share. 
The Chicken Brie Panini comes with a choice of standard salads or soup for $13.99, but you can choose the strawberry date salad for an additional $1.99…and The Mister did just that. 
The sandwich is on grilled artisan bread, made with chicken tenders, tomato, basil and Brie. It is a large, tasty sandwich.
The strawberry date salad is so very flavorful! Mixed greens and strawberries are tossed with candied walnuts, chopped medjool dates and Gorgonzola. This 'side' portion was more than enough for us to share and experience the flavors and freshness.
Park in the fairly large parking lot in front of this building and step inside. It's open to the public. The Pro Shop is to the left, the restaurant to the right and straight ahead is the Nine Hole Golf Course, which opened in 1955 and was re-designed in 1981.
It's a challenging course that you get to walk twice. 
The restaurant has seating inside and outdoors. Menus are on each table, in the condiment rack. Many people walk in to 'Grab and Go' food and beverages for the course, or just to take home. A local place.
Breakfast here is pretty basic. Coffee is $1.86. It's a good coffee.
The Meat Lovers Omelette was listed on the black board as a special this day ($12.95) and was made with three eggs, bacon, ham and sausage and topped with cheddar. Quite large. It was accompanied by toast and fried potato squares. A very tasty and filling breakfast. 
The French Toast Combo ($12.75) was just the right size for me- one slice of thick French Toast: crisp on the exterior; fluffy interior. It was served with two eggs (poached) and a choice of two bacon, two link sausage or one sausage patty- which was excellent in flavor. 
We came back for lunch one Friday, hoping to try the Friday ONLY Special of Fish & Chips, but the fryer would not be ready until about 1 p.m.. 
The Chowder of Clam- we each had a cup (the photo is deceptive; it's a deep cup and filled with many clam pieces, potato and celery). An excellent New England style clam chowder.
I had ordered a half sandwich and soup ($10.50) and the sandwich was tuna salad-mostly tuna, very light mayonnaise and great quality-on toasted rye with lettuce and tomato and a pickle spear. Quite enough food. 
The Mister chose the Grilled Fish Plate ($15.95). Seasoned white fish served with rice pilaf and mixed "Normandy" vegetables. This was a very unexpectedly great meal! A very large, thick piece of fish, nicely char-grilled and kind of fancy. 
The opening gate looks a little different, going with the theme:
'Explore the outdoors and get s'more of what life has to offer' is the idea behind the simple entrance decor.
The Theme building, to the right when you walk in, has a friendly looking entrance.
Not much was set up as of last Wednesday. The rides and food booths had been at the Los Angeles County Fair during most of May until Memorial Day and all had been packing up for the move to San Diego.
Home Made (formerly Home and Hobby, formerly Home Arts) was setting up.
Displays are finalized after judging, so as to focus on the Competition participants and winners.
2023 San Diego County Fair June 7-July 4. Closed Monday and Tuesdays in June. 
The Theme of "Heroes Reunite" was a continuation of the canceled 2020 Fair with the "Heroes Unite" theme. 
It turns out that every booth on Thursday had a $3 special. There were pieces of paper, most handwritten, with a $3 Thursday special listed and taped to the booth behind the cash register. There was nothing written on the Website nor on the Daily Fair Events handouts listing this pricing. I highly suspect the same will be happening on Thursdays during the Fair this year and will update asap. If you notice, most of the $3 specials are small (battered veggies, mini cream puffs, mini Dole Whip, fried pineapple and fried Oreos), but that fried pineapple from Chicken Charlie's was the whole $9 item! I hope that remains the Thursday special. (Remember there are five Chicken Charlies booths; each had a different special).
Of course, we also purchased our 'regular' items, which included fried pickles, grilled vegetables, the artichoke sandwich and an apple tower.
Each location has a Jolly Bee greeter at the door. 
There are some specials near the ordering area as well as online if you pre-order. 
A salty brown gravy is included with each chicken order. That's a pineapple juice drink ($3.49) on the tray, which was filled from behind the counter.
A three piece meal with one side -adobo rice- and beverage from the machine ($11.99). Adobo rice is fried rice with pork.
The two piece combination with palabok ($11.99). Palabok is rice noodles topped with a garlic-pork-shrimp sauce topped with sliced hard boiled egg; a really nice side dish.
We also ordered the 'Limited Edition' fried pie ($2.99) which is coconut pineapple-large shreds of sweet coconut and chunky pieces of tangy pineapple in a flaky, buttery crust. The 'regular' pie (peach mango) is always satisfying. 
On another visit, I picked up two Deluxe Chicken Sandwiches ($5.99) with a side of 'crispy fries', which remained crispy on the drive home. "Deluxe" means the sandwich has mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. It is served on a brioche bun. As you can see, there was also a peach mango pie. 
The chicken can be regular or spicy and regular is great-meaty, juicy, crispy and very large. Packets of 