As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.
As I was getting things together for this post I noticed something. I've actually done a revisits post on these two places together before! Kinda funny; I'm wondering if there's some internal "calendar" that goes off when I eat at one of these places that automatically makes me go to the other?
Anyway, here goes…..
Green China Grill:
In addition to the earlier combo post with the Pho Shop; I noticed that I tend to revisit Green China Grill about once a year. Strange.
As you can see GCG is a green as ever.
This time around I went back to Beef Noodle Soup with Sour Cabbage, which is now $10.99.
As always; the soup was blasting hot; with a good amount of "ma", numbingness to it. I still think it could be beefier and a bit richer, but at least they didn't go too heavy handed on the MSG on this visit. The standard issue xue cai was fine; though I notice they've cut back on the amount of it provided. Too bad; it adds a nice sour-acidic dimension to the broth, along with a bit of crunchiness. The beef was on the tough side and could have used a flavor injection. Though the Lamian (牛大碗 – Hand Pulled Noodles) were excellent this time around. Perfect chewy-al dente mouthfeel, wonderfully slippery, I think they've finally got things nailed down with regards to the noodles.
Overall, a bit over-priced, but this basically delivered.
Green China Grill 4688 Convoy St San Diego, CA 92111
Pho Kitchen:
On a recent Sunday after working for a couple of hours I decided to head home. I'd been trying to fight off a cold and just wanted some pho relatively close to home. I thought about Pho Hut, but I'd never had anything close to a decent bowl of pho from there. So, I headed on over to Pho Kitchen. I went ahead and ordered the regular sized Pho "Tu Do"; basically pho with your choice of three proteins ($7.50).
When the basil and sprouts arrived, the expected small portion, I noticed that both the basil and sprouts were just on the verge of turning color.
The broth was super hot and like the typical San Diego pho broth, on the sweeter side. The soup lacked richness as it was severely defatted, though it had a hint of oniony-beefiness, an improvement over previous visits.
The proteins were quite good. Both the flank and brisket were tender; but not falling to pieces, and both were flavorful. The tendon, while a bit more chewy than I prefer was decent as well.
The issue this time around were the noodles.
While not in a clump on the bottom of the bowl; they were over-cooked and mushy.
It just seems like Pho Kitchen always just misses the mark on my visits. Perhaps one day they'll put it all together. All-in-all, not bad. It's "pho not to offend", if you like that kind of stuff. Service here has always been nice, which does make a difference.
We'd had such a great time in Emiligia-Romagna, from the Castles, to the "Devil's Bridge", to our amazing food tour, there were so many memorable experiences. And even though we had but two more nights left in the region, I had one more ace up my sleeve. Our Airbnb was very inexpensive, so I decided to book an overnight stay in Ravenna, a short hour train ride from Bologna. I'd read a bit about the city, which was once the capital of Western Roman Empire. When Theodosius I died; he split the Roman Empire into to halves, one of his sons, Honorius and he moved the Imperial Court and Administrative offices there in 401 because it was easily defended.
Well, enough of the history lesson, no?
The train station in Ravenna is but a short walk into the heart of the city. The vibe is relaxed and friendly; the city is pedestrian friendly and there's obviously a lot going as we passed this while walking past one of the many piazzas on the way to our hotel.
Our hotel; the Casa Masoli was close to everything we wanted to see; the woman running the place was warm and friendly and even made dinner reservations for us at a place she highly recommended. The prices were quite affordable; we got the Teodora e Giustiniano Suite for like a hundred Euros. The building has long history and our suite was amazing! And quite unique; it's like we entered a time machine and travelled into the past. From the Venetian four post beds and antiques lining the room….
To the huge bathroom with a marble bath tub!
To the rather dramatic sitting area.
The woman pointed to a part of the high ceiling and told us…."this is where a bomb landed during World War I"!
We had also arrived early and expected to drop off our bags; but our room was ready!
And so were we. The first order of business was head on out to the bookstore located at Via Giuliano Argentario 22 and purchase a combined ticket for five of the sites. And, it right down the street from our first site; the Basilica of San Vitale.
Commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius in 527; the church was still unfinished when Ravenna fell to Justinian I in 1540. It was then that the mosaics were done and the church completed in 1547. From the exterior, the building really looks rather staid and simple, but the octagonal plan and the use of terra-cotta bricks was revolutionary in those times.
It's upon entering the interior where you really understand the importance of this structure……
The amazing Byzantine Mosiacs are second to none and just amazing to see. It is rumored that San Vitale was used as the model for the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. And even though we've been to the Hagia Sofia,twice this really made an impression on us.
It is undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.
I'm wondering what the dome would have been like had the intended mosaic design been carried out. The painting on the dome is from the 18th century.
I mean, the mosaic on the ceiling of the presbytery is dramatic enough.
There's actually a tape that goes "ssshhhssshhh" when folks start talking too loud in the place. We actually loved it!
Across the courtyard is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, named after the daughter of Theodosius I. There are three sarcophagi in the structure; it is said that these are of Galla Placidia, who is said to have been placed in sitting position, Galla's son, Valentinian III is to her right, and to her left is that of Emporer Constantius III, her husband. Though because of study and dating, it is no longer thought to be so.
Some say the mosaics here outshine those in the Basilica and I can see why.
It was an amazing visit; something I wish everyone could see.
From here we headed to the next thing I wanted to see. While on one of the many wonderful pedestrian side streets, we decided to stop for lunch here.
It was a quaint shop; the upstairs was a dining area and the bottom floor like a very comfortable café.
the main reason we stopped is because the place served a small menu for lunch that featured Piadine. We'd been wanting to try an Italian version since having on Malta and I knew that this flatbread is traditionally from this region.
The Missus thoroughly enjoyed her Verdure Gratinate Squacquerone (a nice lightly acidic fresh cheese) – basically roasted vegetables in a nice, warm flatbread.
I had the Prosciutto (of course) Arugula Squacquerone version. Which was just enough for a light lunch.
This, along with two espressos was perfect since we still had a bunch of places to visit and didn't want to get filled up. It was also a nice change from all of the rather hearty food we'd been having over the last couple of days.
Nicely priced as well.
Al Cairoli Via Benedetto Cairoli 16 48121, Ravenna, Italy
We headed straight down the street. Past all of the locals chatting, having espresso, eating lunch……
Via Benedetto Cairoli had become Via Corrado Ricci and we had arrived at this piazza. This is the Piazza San Francesco.
We'd gone a street too far. We would return here to visit the Basilica di San Francesco later on….there's something really cool in the church. But for now, I was focused on this place right around the corner in an area called "Zona del Silenzio" (Area of Silence). Remember when we visited the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence? I noted that Dante's tomb "monument" was located in the church, but he wasn't interred there? Well, here he is.
On January 27th 1302, Dante was exiled from his home in Florence. He ended up in Ravenna in 1318 and wrote Paradiso, the third and last part of his Divine Comedy. When Dante died in 1321, he was entombed and hidden in what is now named the Basilica di San Francesco not to be found until 1865. Thus began what some say is a 700 year "battle" over the remains of Dante, which is quite a story in itself.
After what seemed like a very cold (again with the "by San Diego standards" disclaimer) and wet winter; it seems like Spring might be here. The Missus got off early from work today and since I go in at 6am; I decided to leave a bit early as well.
We headed up to North Park; parked the car, and hit up a couple of places. Two of which I've posted on numerous times….so maybe you might just want to grab your favorite beverage and hit the TV or enjoy the weather or do something else.
If not; here's the rundown with minimal verbiage.
Seven Grand:
We've been here a couple of times. The Missus loves the vibe and ambiance. Everytime we've visited; the folks here were really awesome and knew their whiskey.
Plus, they carry the Missus's favorite label, Kavalan, from, of all places Taiwan. And they do half pours….
More on how we came across Kavalan (it was in Paris!) in a future post.
Seven Grand 3054 University Ave San Diego, CA 92104
We then headed up 30th Street and around the corner at ECB to…..
Tiger! Tiger!:
**** Tiger! Tiger! has closed
Of course. We decided to just get the half charcuterie board.
Which always seems to be more than enough.
Tiger! Tiger! 3025 El Cajon Blvd San Diego, CA 92104
Then further down 30th to Adams and of course….
Et Voila!:
We hadn't been here since New Year's eve. So with a Huckleberry Bourbon under my belt.
We finished up our Happy Hour with a couple of old standbys.
I thought it might be best to get this post done before things starts warming up around here.
I found myself in Chula Vista a couple of weeks back and thought about getting an early lunch; it was around 10am, but I was kinda hungry. I remembered CC's post on Pho Nhu Y (BTW Happy 13th Blogaversary CC!), and wondering if it had anything to do with the Pho Nhu Y that lasted only a short while on Kearny Villa Road. From what I remembered; that place was owned by the original owner of Nhu Y, and without going into the gory details; there was a break-up and the ex-wife kept the restaurant or something like that.
This incarnation of Pho Nhu Y resides on Third Avenue in the same strip mall as Carnival Market. It's a pretty tiny shop; just a few tables.
The menu was typical of most pho shops. I didn't expect to find Bun Mam down in these parts and it was indeed not on the menu.
On my two visits; it was the same guy working; I didn't recognize anyone, so I'm not sure if this place is associated with the now defunct Pho Nhu Y.
The weather had still been fairly wet and rainy, so I just stuck with the pho; I made it easy for myself and went with the Dac Biet; which was decently priced at $7.49.
The herbs and veggies were as expected; the basil just starting to turn color, the sprouts were fresh, and of course no ngo gai.
The pho soon arrived as did an implement wrapped in a napkin…it was, well…."W(hat) T(he) F(ork)"? I mean really. I moved it away from the bowl as if it were radioactive; the older guy working soon swooped in and picked it up. He told me, "sorry, many Filipino's like to eat noodles with a fork"! Okay, so here's something in common with the "old" Pho Nhu Y…remember when I was the "Korean guy who liked bun mam"? We weren't exactly starting on the right foot here, were we? The broth was actually fairly clear, on the darker side, with a decent amount of fat. There was a slightly beefy "nose" to it. It did have a hint of beefiness and slight anise-oniony tones; but also edged on the really salty, M-S-heebie-geebie side.
The noodles were in a dense clump in the bottom of the bowl and more tangled than Medusa's hair. I took a good three or four minutes working with the chopsticks and spoon to loosen things up. Hey, maybe that fork??? Nah….
If you take a good look at the banh pho above; you'll notice the noodles are different shades. That's because some of the noodles were really under cooked and hard. I'm figuring it was the stuff in the middle of the noodle clump.
The rare beef was over-cooked when it arrived and tough, dry, with a metallic taste to it. I was surprised that the tendon was quite good and fairly tender. The tripe was also decently crunchy with no off flavors.
Basically a mixed bag, but not sadly, even with those noodles, not the worst bowl of pho I've had recently.
Sooooo, I decided to return this past weekend. And is it just me; or did we skip spring and head right on into summer?
Anyway; my intention was to have the Bo Kho, but I felt like it was just too darn hot and went with the Bun Cha HaNoi. Which, interestingly, came out in the same style of plate as the defunct Pho Nhu Y and was even priced the same at $7.95.
First and foremost, the nuoc mam cham was really watered down, which basically killed the whole dish. The daikon and carrots weren't pickled enough; there was just two leaves of lettuce, and the only herb provided was mint. The bun was nicely cooked, good stretch. The meatballs had a mild beefiness and weren't too bad, neither was the marinated pork, which was tender, if a bit too salty. Still; this dish felt incomplete.
Overall, a mixed bag. I've had much worse recently, but that's not exactly a seal of approval and sets the bar pretty low, doesn't it? Still, the flawed pho, was still better than what I'd last had in the Kearny Mesa area, except for Pho Duyen Mai, which coincidentally took the place of the old Pho Nhu Y. Man, it like we've got three degrees of se-pho-ration….okay, that's enough with the puns for today.
Pho Nhu Y 864 3rd Ave. Chula Vista, CA 91911 Hours: Open Daily 9am – 9pm
I thought I'd break all this "serious" food stuffs with something kinda interesting….or perhaps funny. On Monday, "YZ" quickly came on over to my desk when she got into the office. Apparently, there was a subject in WeChat that was blowing up. It was strangely about youtiao……but not just any youtiao; but youtiao here in San Diego, and at all of things, McDonalds! Or to be more precise; the way YZ and the Missus say it "Màidāngláo" branches on the West Coast! Folks were lining up for the stuff and doing things like…..
Making jiangbing guozi???? Here's some of the posts on WeChat.
Anyway, YZ explained what was going on. I thought it was so funny…..that I actually went to McDonalds. I occasionally will drive-thru MickeyD's for a diet coke, but hadn't walked into a store in ages. But there I was at a quarter to six in the morning.
The deal was getting a new breakfast item called "Donut Sticks" without the cinnamon sugar. It's pretty cheap; I got two dozen for a bit over four bucks.
I gave almost all of it away….of course some of it to "YZ", but Calvin, and JeffP who bit into one and started laughing. I mean, just look at it.
Man, looks familiar doesn't it……well, at least a miniature version of one.
So, how was it? Well, when hot it was crisp, fairly light, on the oily side….but it did smell like youtiao. It losses texture quickly and is missing the yeasty-"alum" taste of the stuff we had in China. But, let me tell you; this might be as good as anything you'd get here in San Diego.
The real test will be when I'm able to talk the Missus into trying this…..
It's all about the birria here; but first, some consommé.
Scalding, slightly peppery, it's not very salty and does real well with a good squeeze of lime, some onions and cilantro. And a few spoonfuls go on the Tacos de Birria y Nervio ($2.90); you gotta get that tendon.
And man was that tendon nice and buttery today. The nice and hearty tortillas are dipped in the birria drippings and griddled; giving it a nice slightly crunchy-firmness. The beefy birria, a bit of the salsa de arbol, a few spoons of consommé, a light squeeze of lime…..you get the idea, right? The birria de res on this day was very tender.
The onions and cilantro add a nice pungent-herbaceousness.
On this day; I tried out the Quesataco Extremo ($3.90).
The griddled birria was nice; with a decent crispness and caramelization to it; the cheese added a milkiness and was melted helping the tortilla stay in tact. There was some nice tendon on this as well. But, I thought the cheese really took away from the birria and I missed that messy-tasty griddled tortilla. So I'll stick with my favorites here.
The place was totally packed, but turnover is fast. It was about a ten minute wait for a table. Service was friendly and warm. As we were leaving, one of the young men asked me how things was. I told him "excellent". He said, "thank you so much…..and we'll try to make it even better next time." Better than excellent? You gotta love that.
Fernandez Restaurant and Catering 2265 Flower Ave San Diego, CA 92154 Hours: Wed – Sunday 7am – 2pm
We'd had a great time on Lana'i and we'll certainly be back.
When we got back to Ewa Beach; the Missus decided that we'd go out to an early dinner. There was one place She'd been wanting to revisit since we first ate there years ago; the Alley. Oxtail soup has a long history in Hawai'i, especially in bowling alleys. And the Missus really enjoyed the version at the Alley ; it was one place She really wanted to revisit. So we headed on down for an early dinner.
The place was fairly empty when we arrived; right before 5pm; but quickly filled up.
The Missus's "leaning tower of plates" soon arrived.
Served with minced ginger and cilantro; ponzu, brown rice, with one empty bowl for da' bones.
Man; this was good ono! The wonderful beefy-ginger-anise flavors; peanuts; that really delicious shiitake mushroom.
It's "rich and delish"! Oh yeah, the tender oxtails, cooked perfectly, not falling to pieces, but still spoon tender, was great. We still haven't found a real use case for that ponzu….
Good until the last drop……
I went with the Tasty Chicken…bowl. The plate would be just too much for me….though I did see one aunty whack the entire plate herself! I; of my own free will actually ordered this with brown rice. No tell anybody; but I like the way the Alley makes their brown rice. And when they asked me if it was mac salad or greens….the Missus, ahem, answered for me….
Oh, and I got the sauce on the side; it's a bit too much with the chicken glazed in it. But a light dip….the chicken is nicely seasoned on its own; light, crisp, moist; like a good karaage. It's best with just a touch of sauce as the flavor of the chicken and spices come through. And it goes strangely well with the brown rice.
This was such a satisfying meal. The service was very friendly. Man, we can't wait to return next time I'm back "home".
The Alley Restaurant Bar & Grill in Aiea Bowl 99-115 Aiea Heights Dr, Ste 310 Aiea, HI 96701
If you've followed our blog for a while; you'll know that the Missus and I are not big on tours. We'd rather do our own thing at our own pace and rushing through things when on a tour is just not a lot of fun for us. We were however, in Emilia-Romagna, home to so many Italian gastronomic treasures. Trying to hunt them down in the amount of time we had would have been quite a task. While doing my research; I'd read so many good reviews of the Italian Days Food Experience. And it delivered. It was a small group tour, a must for the Missus and I, our guide Eleanora was wonderful; funny, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable; especially when it came to all the questions I had. And I did have many of them. This experience changed our minds when it comes to actually doing a tour. We're still cautious about it; but we're now believers. Anyway; this is already 150 words and change. I'll try to keep the verbiage to a minimum; otherwise you'd easily have 10,000 words plus. I want you to go to Bologna and take the tour, experience what we did….it ain't cheap at 150 Euros a person, but well worth it. I now truly understand the hard work, dedication, and passion the folks who make that wheel of Parmesan cheese or prosciutto, and now when I look at a bottle of Traditional Balsamico; I'll know if it's the "real thing".
We were picked up right on time from our apartment in Bologna and after a quick coffee stop headed off to our first destination in Castelvetro; San Silvestro Societa Agricola, a cooperative that takes the local farmer's milk and produces Parmesan Reggiano.
We suited up and then walked into an area with large vats of milk.
Each vat holds 1100 liters; that's 290 gallons of milk. From which the curds makes…..
Only 2 wheels ("the twins") of Parmesan Reggiano!
We all had a chance to taste the curds.
And I got the most wonderful answer when I asked what was done with all the leftover whey. Eleanora explained that some of the whey goes to make ricotta cheese and the rest to local pig farmers….hmmm…..I always thought that the great Prosciutto de Parma and Culatello had a sort of cheesy finish. Could it be?
It is then put into the classic round mold; the "fascera".
The cheese rests for a couple of days. A band is placed inside the molds which have the distinctive marks; the number of the producer, the month and year of production. The cheese also has a specific ID number; this way the actual cheese can be tracked back to the dairy which produced the milk. Only one dairy's milk is used for each production, so things can be traced.
The wheels are then put into a salt water solution and turned daily.
For up to three weeks!
Then it's time for the aging process. After twelve months an inspector from the official agency called the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano will inspect the wheels. Those that….ahem, don't "cut the cheese" have all identifying marks cut off. Those that make it get branded with the seal of the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).
The cheese wheels are turned on a specific schedule. This is what Parmesan heaven looks like.
I'll never look at Parmesan Reggiano the same ever again.
Next up what a stop was this lovely Farm House nearby.
And yes; those are grape vines……
This was the Antico Acetaia Cavedoni, a balsamic vinegar house that has been producing the product for 7 generations…since 1860!
The current head of the family; Paolo Cavedoni, a very energetic gentleman, led us on a tour of the "vinegar loft" and production.
He also explained the specifics of "DOP" ("Denominazione di Origine Protetta") designation; which is done by a panel of 5 master tasters. If the vinegar hits a certain "score" it will be labelled Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale. This is the good stuff and can only be sold in the specific 100 ml bottle that was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, a famous car designer….after all Modena is home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati.
The balsamic is aged in several successive aging barrels for a minimum of 12 years. Every year, vinegar is taken from the smallest barrel, and it is then replenished with product from the next barrel up, and so on. A barrel is never emptied.
Paolo explained that when girls are born into a household, traditionally they would start an entire line – such as "Beatrice" above; which was initiated upon her birth in 1972. In the olden days; the barrels were used as a dowry when the young lady was wed.
In the "back office" we saw barrels going back to the 1800's.
The oldest Balsamico here produces four bottles a year and is sold to one restaurant in Macau.
Can you figure out which is the bottle of Balsamico Tradizionale?
We had a nice "snack" break here….which included quite a bit of food.
What was really amazing was the ricotta cheese topped with Saba; this was amazing stuff and we ended up buying two bottles of it.
Our next stop was at the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Modena, a producer of Prosciutto, right outside Modena.
Eleanora went through the entire process….it was funny when I asked her where on the pig culatello came from and she proceeded to heartily whack a certain body part.
Everything is regulated; from the pig, what it's fed, weight, age…..
There's a specific salting process, and then the washing, drying, the long curing process.
Man, this place smelled amazing.
And the very generous samples….and Lambrusco went down real well.
So, after all of this? Well, it was time for a late lunch! Man, I was kinda full from all of the samples and such. But locale was quite nice.
And there was way too much food and drink…..
We wouldn't be having dinner tonight, that's for sure.
Like I said in the beginning; this small group (ten of us) tour by Italian Days changed our opinion when it comes to taking tours. Yes, you still need to pick well. And definitely read those reviews.
I had learned so much….food is "our thing" when we travel, and Italian Days really delivered. It was well worth the 300 Euros for the both of us.
I hope you get the chance to experience what we did.
Back in the comments section of my Bonchon post, "RedDevil" asked me if I had been to the new KFC place that opened in Atlas Market. I'd already heard about the place and had in on my list; so on holiday weekend, after working the morning I headed over.
The good thing about Furaido is that they open at 1030 in the morning; so I could easily beat the crowds.
Located in the Food Court area; Furaido claims to serve gluten free fried chicken; which means it's probably using rice flour and the texture of the wings reflected that. The wings come from the market and are Halal as well.
On both my visit I got the 10 piece wings; because; well, I'm all about wings. You get two choices for a glaze or "dip" or dust..
A couple of observations that were true for all the wings and drumettes I had here. The batter is obviously rice flour based and on the crumbly-hard side than crunchy. It is not oily and the fat has been rendered nicely on these wings. The batter is also quite dry and is not seasoned; more on that below. I believe they also over fry the drumettes which make them tough and dry. The wings are large; which can through off moisture, and skin to meat ratios….I prefer my wings smaller; bigger is not necessarily better, and these tend toward being over battered….I mean you work hard to render the fat and develop a nice light crisp skin; why cover it in a ton of batter?
The Red Devil (thinking of you RD!) Garlic; while not quite turning the wings a shade of red was my favorite here; it wasn't too sweet, slightly spicy, and best of all, the wings weren't just drenched in sauce.
The Furikake wings needed a kick up in flavor as; like I mentioned before, the initial product is not seasoned, so this was bland; there's no moisture from a sauce or glaze; so these are even drier.
Overall; plus – minus.
Between visits; "SomTommy" emailed me and said he enjoyed the Garlic Soy Wings and "Top Secret" Dip on his wings and so on my follow-up visit….
Man, these were fried even harder and was even more crumbly. Can you tell which one has the Garlic Soy? It's the one on the left; it was very lightly sauced which I would usually appreciate, but the unseasoned and dry wings needed more.
As for the Top Secret……with a tip of the hat to "FOY" CC, do you remember what the "secret sauce" at Bronco Burger was? Yep, that was this.
So, in the end; the Devil Garlic Glaze is what I enjoyed the most. The wings here have too much batter for my taste; even more than Cross Street. If you like a thick batter and larger wings and drumettes; you might enjoy Furaido. But get a glaze or Dipp; or enough "dust" because the chicken isn't seasoned enough on its own. As for me; well, I wouldn't go out of the way to visit Furaido.
For a different perspective please check out Soo's post along with the afore mentioned post by Kirbie.
Furaido Premium Chicken Company (Inside Atlas Market) 14837 Pomerado Rd. Poway, CA 92064 Hours: Open Daily 1030 – 8pm
As always; the soup was blasting hot; with a good amount of "ma", numbingness to it. I still think it could be beefier and a bit richer, but at least they didn't go too heavy handed on the MSG on this visit. The standard issue xue cai was fine; though I notice they've cut back on the amount of it provided. Too bad; it adds a nice sour-acidic dimension to the broth, along with a bit of crunchiness. The beef was on the tough side and could have used a flavor injection. Though the Lamian (牛大碗 – Hand Pulled Noodles) were excellent this time around. Perfect chewy-al dente mouthfeel, wonderfully slippery, I think they've finally got things nailed down with regards to the noodles.
When the basil and sprouts arrived, the expected small portion, I noticed that both the basil and sprouts were just on the verge of turning color.
