mmm-yoso – Page 179 – 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.

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road tests 4/5. Breakfasts at Costa’s (Covina)

November 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. This particular post is about food discovered while checking out another Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test. Kirk is taking a break from blogging and Cathy is writing.

For your convenience, here are links to 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road Tests #1/2, Road Test #3, and Road Test #6

I'll start this post out with the food. The Rose Parade float road testing at the end of September was a "closed set" and no photos were allowed. Of course we didn't know and drove the two hours that Saturday morning anticipating photos and a meal as a post. Since we saw what we could and left kind of soon, we were barely hungry, so drove East on the 210 and randomly took the Grand Avenue exit, driving South. At the signal light at San Bernadino Road, we saw this and decided to stop in.

Costa's was opened in 1991 and has quite a few dining areas- inside and outside. The decor is home spun and eclectic. The menu shows breakfast and lunch/dinner specials Monday -Friday and different specials on weekends. The prices are more than reasonable.
The chicken fried steak ($8.99-from the regular, not weekend special menu) comes with three eggs and your choice of toast (raisin in this case) was wonderful! Lightly breaded, fried crisp, this large piece of cube steak was way more food than expected. The country fried potatoes were vegetable heavy (in a good way) and those three eggs were cooked to a perfect over easy; runny with crisped whites. Oh, the gravy is from scratch and is great without the addition of the sausage, which brings it to another level.

The breakfast special of Eggs Benedict ($9.29) came with a peach half or I could have substituted a few other items, but I decided to go with the chef's vision. I think the presentation was pretty. Also, I haven't had canned peaches in forever and this one was not 'heavy syrup' sweetness. The hollandaise sauce was from scratch and very lemony- a good thing. The perfectly poached eggs on top of the triangle cut ham steak slices on top of toasted English muffin halves was just heaven in every bite.

When the October road test was happening, we got to take photos and decided to stop at Costa's again. This time, the waffle breakfast ($7.99) with over easy eggs and sausage links. This was quite wonderful; a sweet, malted flavor to the waffle, perfect over easy eggs and the sausage seemed nicer than normal, with a 'skin' and good flavors.
The most expensive weekend special breakfast is $9.99 and we went for it. Steak and eggs. Rye toast, the wonderful home fries and perfectly poached eggs. The steak was surprisingly large and perfectly cooked to a medium-rare and wonderfully flavored.

We may stop here again after the November road test, or after decorating floats in December; it's a great place…all locals.

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

Float road tests Number one and two, the third road testing had been completed and we were looking forward to the one in late September. This was the only photo I was able to snap before being told that no photos would be allowed that day. The second float there (behind the Theme Float you see in front) is Trader Joe's. Apparently there is a part of the mechanics that they want to remain a surprise. The design is cute. In June, I took this photo at the road test; you can see it's sort of an eagle's head and the float looks like a pirate ship (indeed, the the title of the float is "Ride, Captain, Ride", in keeping with the Rose Parade theme of "The Melody of Life", which will have each float with some sort of musical instrument on board) At the October road test, I snapped this photo of the colored in float in the back of the barn. You can see the front of the pirate ship with the eagle head and a sort of hot air balloon in the middle of the float. That's where the 'surprise' will be on January first. At the August road test, we saw this beautiful basic float being driven , testing for maneuverability and mechanics.
At the end of October, the 'cocoon' was covering the float and it was being tested for safety, with people onboard, who had to be able to exit the float in 45 seconds- in case of a fire. The float is by the American Legion – a first time in the parade.
The closing float for the parade in 2019 is a new one and is showing the rest of the Tournament of Roses- the football game. It's a replica of the Rose Bowl and inside, is
a replica of the prize winning trophy. A nice tie into a magnificent New Year Day.

I got a peek of this float being screened in. It's from Western Asset and has a sort of spaceship appearance. There will be another road test later this month and quit a few floats still have to be tested. Decorating (details and dry decorating) begins the first of December and continues for each Saturday then Decorating Week (using live flowers) from December 26-31.

Thanks for reading.

Bei Jing Kao Ya (北京烤鸭 – Peking Duck) From Yummy House

November 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

In the comments section of my most recent Village Kitchen post; "Elle" asked me if I had been to Yummy House, which had just opened in the former Nolbu and Soho spot on Convoy. I'd seen the spot; but wasn't quite sure what this place was. A quick text to "FOY" Candice and things got more interesting as she mentioned Bei Jing Kao Ya….aka Peking Duck. so I decided to escape for an early lunch down to that little parking lot. The place was empty when I arrived; the Servers seemed really nice, but somewhat "green" and unorganized. But still, they were friendly.

The menu was kind of all over the place and I tried to get a bead on where the owner and chefs were from. All I got was "Northern China"…so immediately, the Hunan and Sichuan dishes were ruled out. And of course there was the Peking Duck on the menu…..two courses for $45.98…….not cheap by any means and you had to order one hour ahead of time.

I decided to order a couple of things.

Starting with the Sauteed Green Beans; which was decently pan fried, somewhat wrinkly, really mild in seasoning, but the green beans were fresh and crisp, so I didn't need too much in terms of seasoning. Though how this was flavored seemed quite "Shandong".

I also ordered the Crisp Intestine with Pancakes. The pancakes were fairly thin, with a bit of stretch and weren't bad at all. The intestine wasn't crisp enough, being more gummy and chewy, but was quite funky in flavor and barely seasoned.

The best item by far was the Suan Cai Yang Rou.

While the suan cai; the "fermented" cabbage was really mild, much too mild for our taste, the lamb was quite tender, and nice and gamey. The broth was also mild and in my opinion in need of star anise and more white pepper; though it did have frozen tofu. This wasn't bad at all. Needless to say; when I brought this home, the Missus stated how mild it was in flavor.

A few minutes into my meal and I felt a tap on my shoulder….good lord; it was Candice! Great minds think alike I guess? It was nice chatting and catching up on things a bit; I gave her a taste of what I was eating. I had to get back to the office so I soon left. Candice did mention that the best item they had was the Beef Tendon Hot Pot; so I returned to try that.

This was by far the best item I had on my visits. The tendon was so tender and buttery, the beef shank tender and full of wonderful beefiness, the tomato based broth was thick, rich, and tangy, with just enough white pepper tones. This was a good, rustic dish….full of that "aaah" affect.

The really nice young lady working recommended I have the gailan which she said was fresh. It was fresh, though a bit under-cooked and under-seasoned.

A few weeks back a couple of the folks I'm really close to at work; "YZ", "SJP", and Calvin decided that it had been a while since we'd had lunch together. We decided to check out Yummy House and try the Peking Duck. "YZ" called the day before and made reservations and ordered the duck.

We arrived right past eleven am……there was some confusion about the duck but it got straightened out….we were told the duck; even though we had ordered ahead and our time was set at 11 was going to take a while. And then we tried ordering……well…..they were out of the Tendon Hot Pot….no Ong Choy, no Spicy Clam….no Hot Tea!!!! Say what?

We ordered a couple of items including the Green Beans and rice…..to find out; they didn't have any rice?!?!?! Did somebody forget to press the "button" on the rice cooker? When was the last time you went to a Chinese Restaurant in San Diego and they were out of rice? The poor woman who was serving us felt so bad and embarrassed. So; it was going to be a "lower carb" lunch then we had planned on. The green beans were fine….soon enough the duck made its way to the table.

The legs of the duck were served separately and were actually the best thing about this dish. The dan bing; the pancakes were decent; thin enough with a light stretch. The second best thing about this dish was the cucumbers….because that duck meat was so bland and dry; the duck skin wasn't crisp enough and didn't have much flavor….I mean, I wasn't expecting it to compare to Quan Ju De or even any number of now defunct and still open places in LA/OC….but good lord; I was expecting better than China Max!

The soup that arrived was also disappointing.

Shades of Seolleongtang; while the tongue feel of the broth was decent with a mild duck flavor, this really needed some salt, white pepper, star anise…… "YZ" also quickly noticed that it seems the tofu hadn't been drained properly as it had no flavor. It's really sad; because I believe I can do better with a leftover duck carcass. Sad…..forty-six bucks worth of sad.

We laos ordered one of the few items actually available; the "Dong Po" Pork Hock.

"YZ" who is from Shanghai and I mentioned that the chef is definitely from the North since this had no sweet tones; like dong po rou. The brown sauce was gloppy and glue like, the skin was fairly decent as it had a bit of stretch and the connective tissue was somewhat buttery in texture; but in a good pork hock, the meat under the skin will be quite tender; this was fairly dry and flavorless. This could have used more saltiness and savory tones as well.

In the end I felt really bad for our Server and somewhat embarrassed for suggesting lunch here. Though we did have fun time catching up on things other than work. Still; how can you not have rice or tea? I was tempted to run over to Chopstix and buy some rice. Actually; if the folks running the place actually had some sense; they'd send the tall young man who was just standing behind the bar to purchase some rice for their customers.

My understanding is that the owner/cooks are from either Shandong or Dongbei; depending on who you ask. They really need to work on a whole lot of things here……without even considering the food; there are many gaps to close. And it seems there's a severe lack of restaurant experience and common sense.

Yummy House
4633 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours
Mon -Fri 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 10pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 10pm

Revisits – Mi Quang Mien Trung and Pho Hoa

November 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

It had been about eight months since Mi Quang Mien trung had opened; so I thought it would be a good time to revisit. Plus, they open at 8am, so I can get noodles for breakfast before hitting the office on weekends.

It seems like only half of the menu display was working on this day; but I knew what I wanted. I wasn't very impressed with the signature dish of this place during my previous visit; so I gave the Mi Quang another try.

The pork this time around was vastly improved; nice saltiness, good pork flavor. After that; there was a total drop-off. Still hardly any broth and what is provided is so bland, it might as well be msg flavored hot water. The noodles were nicely cooked and I appreciated the banana blossom, which added a decent texture. The shrimp was really bad; it was over-cooked and had a very musty flavor, not good eats.

Like I said before; it's a pretty nice looking dish and maybe you'd like it….if you've never had Mi Quang before. For me, this is just so bland and lacks soul.

That said; there were a few things on the menu I had wanted to check-out, so I returned the following weekend.

By now it seems the entire menu board is now non-functional. It's back to paper.

I ordered the Bun Hen ($8.50) and Banh Bot Loc (a small order $4).

The Bun Hen is by far the best item I've had here so far. While not nearly as well seasoned or spice as the version at Mien Trung, the clams had a nice mildly chewy texture, had a mild savory flavor, without any sandy-grittiness. That mam nem did it's magic on the dish as a whole; adding a wonderful deep-funky savoriness to the dish. The chicharrons were fresh, light, and crunchy. The bun was perfectly prepared and there was a good amount of banana blossom in the dish. It was very satisfying…..

I can't say the same about the Banh Bot Loc, which was ice cold, really, tough, and flavorless.

You can't win 'em all I guess.

CC recently visited Mi Quang Mien Trung as well.

**** Mi Quang Mien Trung has closed

Mi Quang Mien Trung
4745 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

As for that "vehicle" parked in front of the 7-11….well, you never know what you'll see on ECB…..

For some reason yesterday's time change kind of messed me up….as in, I was up at 4am messed up. After trying to sleep for a few more hours; I gave up and decided to go into work for a while. But first I needed some breakfast….and perhaps some pho. I've had some pretty lousy pho recently and just wanted something decent…..plus it was 645am in the morning. I decided to head up to City Heights and have my breakfast at Pho Hoa, after all it had been over 2 years since my last visit. Plus, they open at 7am.

Not much going on at 7am on a Sunday at Pho Hoa; just a few "old-timers"; me included. The lighting gave the place a rather eerie look.

The drill was as expected. The menu, placed on the table, is basically symbolic, a formality, as the guy taking the order is already standing above you, pen poised in hand, impatiently waiting for you to order before you even open it.

But there was no mistaking the freshness of the basil, ngo gai (yea!!), and sprouts when it hit the table. And man, apparently there's no national shortage of basil as other pho shops will make you believe.

It was good 'ol #4 for me. As I mentioned in a previous post; I'm not a big fan of the rare steak here….it usually has a rather metallic taste to it.

The broth was decent; a slight beefiness, a bit richer than usual, clear, with a nice mildly pungent-anise flavor. Not overly sweet like much of the pho in San Diego is these days.

The brisket was slightly beefy if a bit on the dry side; the flank wasn't overly fatty, the tripe crunchy, but it was the tendon that took the gold medal. Nice and buttery in texture.

Not an amazing or great bowl of pho; but passable and it hit the spot. With the state of pho in San Diego, this will just have to do these days.

Pho Hoa Restaurant
4717 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Spicy Hut

November 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Spicy Hut has closed

Back in May; Faye left a comment on my Shan Xi Magic Kitchen post, in which she overheard customers asking if the staff from Spicy King were now working at the restaurant they were eating at. That would be Spicy Hut, you can read Faye's post here. I filed that away for a while. Then a few weeks back; I happened to mention this to "YZ", who lives fairly close by. One morning, while her kids were attending some kind of event she checked the place out. Interesting story; "YZ" actually worked at Ba Ren over one summer while in college, so she probably waited on us during our visits to Ba Ren! small world. Anyway, "YZ" walked on in; it was before opening and asked if "Shifu Hu" was there….and he was! She brought me a menu….

So, I decided to check them out a few days later.

This is in the former location of Golden State Seafood….man, the last time I was here must be over a dozen years ago!

The interior is clean, there's the de-rigueur cold case with the liang cai; cold dishes.

Chef Hu's wife, whom I met while shopping at 99 Ranch Market and on that final visit to Spicy King was working the front of house and quickly called Chef Hu out. He looked to be in good health and we quickly shook hands…..my Mandarin is non-existent and his English is limited, so we mostly smiled and had a short conversation.

So, of course I was anxious to try some of the dishes. During both visits, I went with more or less the Sichuan dishes I long for and miss.

But first, some Liang Cai.

The Fu Qi Fei Pian ("husband and wife lung pieces", lung = offal or tendon in most cases)was nicely cut; though not spicy enough, and can you tell what's missing? Yep, the tendon. It's sort of like the "husband" decided to leave the "wife" and try to make it on his own. I missed the textural contrast of not having something other than brisket in this. The pig ears were nice and crunchy, with a good amount of sesame oil, but could have used a bit more spice. The pickled long beans were good, nice and briny.

Of course I had to have the Sichuan Liang Mian; I haven't had a good version since Ba Ren closed.

The actual noodles, were passable, not over-cooked, not hard and brittle, but still lacking that nice al dente pull I like. This had a ton of garlic and vinegar, it was a bit too sour for me. The amount of soy and saltiness was perfect, but this needed that savory punch from sesame paste and more spiciness. Still, not a bad version.

Another go-to dish; Ko Shui Ji ("saliva/mouthwatering" chicken). So was this "drool worth"?

This was the best version I've had in a while! The chicken was prepared well; it had a nice toothsomeness, without being tough. The sauce had some nice heat; with decent ginger tones, a touch of sweetness, and some spice! I would have enjoyed a little "ma" (numbing) tones as this was a bit short in the Sichuan Peppercorn department.

My least favorite dish was the Ma Po Doufu.

While the texture of the tofu was excellent; this dish was sorely lacking with regards to several key ingredients; chili bean paste, Sichuan Peppercorns, not enough fermented black beans. It was, to put things mildly very one-dimensional; truly missing that "suan-tian-ku-la-xian", the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor for a flavorful, yet balanced dish the Chinese use. I brought most of it home and the Missus thought it wasn't very good either.

A few days later; Calvin and "Daniel from Georgia" wanted to grab something to eat. We actually had time for lunch! I mentioned Spicy Hut and Daniel had never had traditional Sichuan food before; so it was a go. They decided that I should do the ordering. So lunch commenced as such.

Liang Cai. The duck gizzards in chili and sesame oil were pretty good, nice and crunchy.

The Shui Zhu Yu (the classic "Water Boiled Fish") dish, which Faye really enjoyed, was quite good, if a bit short in the Sichuan Peppercorn and Doubian Jian department.

The texture of the fish was good, tender, moist, with no muddy flavors. Daniel just loved this and told he'd never had anything like this before!

The Shrimp with Dried Red Chilies was next.

The batter was light and crunchy; though I prefer it more lacquered and not as "thick". It also could have used more Sichuan Peppercorns as this wasn't particularly spicy in spite of all those red chilies. I don't think the fried shrimp was finished correctly with the chilies.

I wanted to temper the spice with one dish and we got the Rice Crust with Three Delicacies.

While a bit on the milder side; the texture of the sauce was good, not too thin and not too gloppy. The fish was prepared well; but the shrimp was a bit on the over-cooked side. Still as this got more and more gooey, it became quite comforting.

Overall, the food was pretty good, better, at least for now than other Sichuan options in San Diego. It's also better than what I'd previously had from Chef Hu at Fu An Garden and Spicy King. I'm hoping they can hold the course. And perhaps it's about time for me to "make the rounds" of the Sichuan shops in San Diego.

Spicy Hut
9460 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 930pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 9pm

The Concorde Room (London Heathrow) and British Airways First Class London Heathrow to San Diego Lindbergh Field

November 3, 2018 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, London

While purchasing tickets for our San Diego – Copenhagen trip I noticed something that I believe was a bit of an aberration. For the return flight to San Diego; British Airways First Class was just a bit more than Business Class. I thought this would be a nice treat for the Missus. Especially since we had a 5-1/2 layover in Heathrow. So, for this slow Saturday, I thought I'd complete the posts on that trip with a short, mostly photo post.

The Concorde Room:

The flight from Copenhagen to London-Heathrow was short and sweet; we went through the usual hassle at LHR, the second set of security, not knowing what gate our flight was going to be at, etc.

One thing did make this lay-over a treat was the Concorde Room, unlike Galleries Club in Terminal 5, set for Business Class and the Galleries First, which, even though it says" "First" caters more to elite status fliers, the Concorde Room, which has it's own door after security where you can bypass all the shops and such, is for only passengers with First Class BA tickets or those with a Concorde Room card.

This large lounge has four basic areas; the lounge and basic seating area…..

You can even pre-book a "Cabanas"; basically a day-room, which I understand has a private bathroom, shower, day-bed, and television.

The Restaurant, with booths, and a separate menu.

And our favorite area; the Terrace, with couches, chairs, and day-beds, which I made really great use of during our lay-over.

From the Terrace you can view the tarmac…..

And the bustling terminal…..if you look closely, you'll notice a place where we had a rather mediocre meal on a previous trip.

The menu outside of the dining area is a simple abbreviated one.

It's all table service; so you won't find the chafing dishes and the buffet line here. I found the service to be quite professional.

The Missus decided on a breakfast sandwich; but couldn't decide on the filling, so the really nice Server asked Her if She wanted all three on Her sandwich. Which is what She ended up getting. I got the Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Eggs.

and two glasses of Champagne later; I had a short nap while the Missus watched Her Netflix.

Because of the lay over; we were asked about lunch, but we were still full from breakfast. The flight desk was really good about letting us know our gate and other info and soon enough we boarded.

In a nutshell, the key difference I saw between Business and First on this BA flight was the space and the service. The pod was surprisingly large.

Please take note of the seatbelt on the "footrest" section of my pod.

After the usual glass of sparkling wine to start things off……

We were asked if we'd like to dine together! Really! And you know what? They did a second setting and the Missus and I shared a nice dinner…..

I don't think the food is really different between Business and First; though the presentation is…..

Man, that cheese plate was quite generous…..

Best of all, was the lie-flat bed….with a much larger area then the usual Business Class Pod.

So there you go. I'm not sure when or if we'll be able to do this again; but it was a nice way to end our trip.

Copenhagen – Our Last Day and Restaurant Schønnemann

November 2, 2018 mmm-yoso Denmark, Nordic/Scandanvian Food and Restaurants, Sandwiches, Travel

We got into Copenhagen from Paris at 930pm. Getting to Nørreport Station from the airport is a snap; our hotel was further down Vendersgade this time; around the corner from the last place was stayed at. The room was large, the floors creaky, and the bathroom; yet another "wet room", had the worst configuration I've had for a bathroom since probably that boat on Halong Bay. Everytime you showered, you had to make sure to remove all the T.P., close the seat, etc….

You'd think for $280/night they could come up with something better….like maybe shower curtains?

Oh well; at least breakfast was good, not as good as the Ibsens hotel, which we stayed at during the beginning of our trip. Still, breakfast was quite filling; more than enough to keep us most of the day.

After breakfast we headed out. We'd spend our last full day in Copenhagen just strolling around and exploring. The Peblinge Sø, one of the Three Lakes on the west end of Central Copenhagen was right across the street from the Hotel.

We walked along the lake and down Nørre Søgade until we came around to busy H.C. Andersens Boulevard and headed toward City Hall.

The skys were overcast, but it wasn't particularly cold, and it was a nice walk along the Boulevard.

We noticed a few things that we hadn't recalled seeing during our previous visit; like the Memorial of the First and Second Schleswig Wars, a conflict between the Danish and Germans as to who ran the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. It was a very complex situation, called the "Schleswig-Holstein Question", so confusing was this issue that Lord Palmerston was quoted as saying, “The Schleswig-Holstein question is so complicated, only three men in Europe have ever understood it. One was Prince Albert, who is dead. The second was a German professor who became mad. I am the third and I have forgotten all about it.” 'nuff said.

They were a bunch of other events happening at City Hall Square, so we didn't dally very long before heading off.

That's the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek below, a famous art mesum.

We crossed on a bridge and walked along a canal.

We both cracked up when we saw a gentleman park his walker in front of this bar then walk inside for what I assume is his morning "hair of the dog"?

We found ourselves in the Christianshavn neighborhood.

I had recalled seeing a church on the map and we soon found Vor Frelsers Kirke (Church of Our Saviour) with its distinctive spire a little more than a block down the street.

From here we crossed back over and somehow ended up back in Nyhavn, where we enjoyed all the little Christmas booths set-up along the canal.

After walking for a few more minutes, the Missus decided She needed a caffeine fix. We were near the ILLUM Department Store, so we decided to stop by the Copenhagen location of Eataly.

For some coffee and a few snacks for the Missus.

Our late lunch stop was one of the oldest and most treasured purveyors of the Smørrebrød, the classic Danish open-faced sandwich since 1877, Restaurant Schønnemann. Restaurant Schønnemann is a lunch only place; with basically two seatings, one at 1130 and one at 230pm. Reservations are a must; you step inside the restaurant a few minutes before your designated time; check-in and then go back outside to wait in the ever expanding line. At right about 230pm, folks were being escorted to their table.

I had been forewarned about some rather brusque service; but the nice woman who served us was anything but that.

She was indeed very efficient; you don't survive the daily crowds here if you're not. But she was also quite warm and really tried to make our visit as enjoyable as possible.

Speaking of drinks…..folks having lunch here were really having a great time. we watched the older folks at the next able put away several glasses of drinks each, along with a couple of Aquavit.

As for the Aquavit, after having it at Arakataka in Oslo, it had to be the Aquavit Linie, which is aged in oak casks. "Linie" literally mean "line" and true to the name, Aquavit Linie are put onto boats and are sent around the world, from Norway to Australia, crossing the equator twice along the way! The woman suggested the Aquavit Linie Christmas Edition, which was excellent, with more caraway and anise tones. It was like drinking a wonderfully smokey bagel.

As for the smørrebrød, we started with the Marinated Herring; which was lovely.

The herring had an almost "buttery-meaty" texture; with a nice surprisingly clean finish to it. The egg was wonderful and the curry salad and pungent red onions really helped to cut and oiliness. The nutty rye bread was fantastic with this.

Speaking of oiliness; the Classic Spicy Pickled Herring was a bit much for the Missus.

This definitely had a funky cheesiness to it and had that typical high oil fish flavor.

We were fascinated by the "Greenland Shrimps" in a Pyramid. Man, this was quite a bit of shrimp.

Which were a tad over-cooked for our taste and on the bland side. The shrimp really didn't have the sweetness we were expecting and the white bread just didn't do it for us.

We finished with the Tenderloin Steak of Pork, which came in a larger than expected portion.

The crisp rind of the pork was amazing; crunchy, porky, just good stuff. The meat was toothsome, but not tough, and more moist than expected. And, it had that nice porcine flavor that has been bred out of the "other white meat" here in the States. It was pretty rich, just a few steps away from "meatsweatland", but we enjoyed this. And of course; that wonderful, nutty, rye bread.

And the Missus let me have another shot of Aquavit Linie Christmas Edition to boot! So it was a nice and fitting last meal in Copenhagen. Schønnemann was a fun place for that meal.

As for the Aquavit Linie Christmas Edition; I saw that they had it for sale at the Duty Free Shop in the airport, so I bought a couple of bottles.

Restaurant Schønnemann
Hauser Plads 16
Copenhagen, Denmark

Darkness was already falling as we left the restaurant at 4pm.

I knew we weren't going to be able to manage eating anything else this evening. And we'd be leaving before breakfast was served the next morning, but we weren't too worried since I think that pork would do a fine job of holding us.

As I usually do during our trips, I grabbed a beer on the way back to the hotel room, popping the bottle as we relaxed before bed. It gave me time to reflect on our trip; this one had been a long one, over three weeks, taking us from Copenhagen, then to Oslo via Overnight Cruise, from Oslo we flew to Tromso, where we "chased the Aurora" and experienced Polar Winter, then next we were off to Amsterdam, then to the Missus's favorite city, soon enough we were headed to Strasbourg, where we got to enjoy the sites of this UNESCO Heritage City and its wonderful Christmas Markets. Back in Paris, we enjoyed a fantastic meal at Restaurant Alliance and continued with our exploration of the city. And here we were. Early tomorrow morning we'd be flying back home. But there was one more interesting experience to come….so stay tuned!

Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa)

November 1, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I know of quite a few people who had been waiting for Menya Ultra to open in Mira Mesa. So when Eater annouced the soft opening, then grand opening schedule; I just figured it was going to be nothing like being able to sneak into Menya on their first day of business on Clairemont Mesa; since Menya had made a name for itself. Still, with several meetings cancelled; I found myself with some time and a bit of freedom on my hands. So, I decided to head up to Mira Mesa, I take a quick peek to see what the line was like. I arrived at 10 till 11 and things weren't bad at all.

Instead of a sign in sheet; this location uses an iPad and you get a text right before your table is ready.

The capacity of this location seats about 50; so even with the staggered seating, I was in by 1110. Funny thing; they sat all the parties for two at the counter and single customers at the two-top….which probably made sense since it was a pretty tiny two top.

I knew what I wanted by the time I hit my seat and it took me thirty seconds to fill out my order. The young lady who was working the seating and seemed to be managing the front of house; I believe her name is Maia is amazing. As soon as she saw I had my order filled out, she walked over, smiled and said, "that's fast". I told her that I'd been "trained well" eating the Clairemont location. She cracked up.

I think they had a bunch of stuff already going as my Chicken Karaage got to me in less than five minutes.

This wasn't bad; moist, but on the chewy side. There's some nice savory tones going on; but it's not nearly as good as Ramen Menma – Basso Drillman; which while on the salty side, was much more crisp and even more juicy than this. Like I said, not as crisp as I enjoy, but a passable version.

Of course I got the Ajitama Ramen with extra ajitama.

This was a darn good bowl; better than what I'd had at the Clairemont location during my last couple of visits. Rich, but not greasy, not too salty, nice belly and tongue coating, collagen filled goodness. The noodles were good, chewy and al dente, but nice and slippery, as expected.

The ajitama looked really good; the orange yolks glistening, but much like Kirbie's visit (Please check it out here), this was much saltier than I'd had in the past. The eggs were also too cold.

Still, I don't think you can get a better version of tonkotsu ramen in San Diego. And maybe it'll be easier for you to get a seat at the Clairemont location.

Menya Ultra
8141 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Tues – Sat 11am 2pm, 530pm – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm

Anchorage – Glacier Brewhouse and a Haunted Hotel?

October 31, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

I guess it's just fitting to do this post on Halloween; after all we were staying at a haunted hotel, one that is actually the only hotel in Anchorage that's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But first, we had to get there. It was just a simple 230 mile drive from where we were staying at McKinley Creek to the rental car return in downtown Anchorage.

Of course the views in Denali State Park were stunning……

While we stopped to take in the views, other than another stop to put in gas, we drove straightaway, without stopping for lunch. All in all, with road construction and traffic it took us about five and-a-half hours to get into Anchorage. After returning the rental car, we walked over to the hotel we were staying at and dropped off our bags. We then decided to do some shopping then grab a bite to eat…..actually several bites. The Missus eschewed making reservations at more of the upscale places; instead, we'd end up hitting three places during this day. First we decided to explore downtown Anchorage for a bit and do some shopping.

We started at an apropos spot; the Statue of Balto the Wonder Dog; who was one of the lead dogs during the amazing 1925 serum run to Nome, which also inspired the sled dog race we know as Iditarod.

The sculpture also marks the starting point of the Iditarod.

We wove our way through a myriad of souvenir and gift shops; with names like "Big Ray's", "Grizzly's Gifts", and "Once in a Blue Moose". The kitsch level was high and we really had a blast at all the humorous shirts and other "stuffs".

Taking a turn at the Visitor's Center.

We arrived at our first destination for the day……Glacier Brewhouse.

The place was pretty darn busy; even during the mid-afternoon time. We took a table in the bar area which was hopping as well.

Our Server was really on top of things; efficient and friendly.

I started with a nice Glacier Brewhouse Bavarian Hefeweizen, fruity banana tones, with a slight anise/clove thing going on; light and easy to drink.

The Missus was inspired by something She saw on the drinks list.

Something had "clicked" when She had that first sip of the single malt whiskey at Talkeetna Brewpub.

She pointed at a section of the drinks menu…….

And ordered the Kentucky Whiskey Flight!

I quickly ordered some food from the bar-grub menu. We needed something in our empty bellies or this wasn't going to turn out well.

Regardless; we really enjoyed the whiskey.

I'd ordered the Seafood Crostini; which featured both King Crab and Dungeness Crab on grilled Rosemary Bread. This was pretty good in bar food terms…..after all, how often do you mix the phrases King Crab and "pub grub".

It was quite clear that the less fussy; the better food seemed to turn out for us in Alaska.

The tomatoes were nice and ripe and added a decent acidity to the dish.

The Missus, with some help from me, really enjoyed the whiskey flight…..so She ordered another! This time the Rye Whiskey flight….

The Missus had enjoyed the Smoked Salmon Dip during our previous dinner….in fact, it was the only thing from the dinner She deemed edible, so I ordered that.

More toasts, more seafood, a lot of yogurt in this and a bit too sour for my taste. Still, mayo would have been worse; it surely would have put us down.

Like I said, we really enjoyed our Server, she was a joy to work with and even stopped by and chatted with us a bit. We headed out with something in our stomachs other than alcohol. While the food at Glacier Brewhouse has a definite corporate feel (as most other places here do too), it wasn't too bad….and the Missus got Her whiskey, right?

Glacier Brewhouse
737 W 5th Ave.
Anchorage, AK 99501

We headed on back to the hotel.

We were staying at the Historic Anchorage Hotel.

As we got to the hotel I noticed this sign posted outside.

Haunted, huh? While we waited a few short minutes for our room to be ready in the period piece bar area…..

We notice this this in the bar area….a listing of "encounters".

Some of them; like "lots of mold grew on their beer box overnight, and the curtains moved around on their own" kind of made us laugh….."Guest in room 203 came to the front desk to request a different room. The previous night the light in the bathroom kept turning on by itself and he could hear laughter and smell tobacco smoked from that room. He was not disturbed by this presence, but preferred a "less active" room so that he could sleep through the night." Yeah, for real….

And there was this one; which seemed more like a heart attack than a haunting.

Wow, so many stories. This was going to be an interesting night……

But first; we needed to freshen up, take a short nap……then grab some dinner!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Halloween!

Fernside

October 30, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

I recently had some time to catch up with my good friends; it had been a while and I really missed the good times, laughs, and all the crazy fun we've had over the years. During one of the conversations; I mentioned how much the Missus enjoys the cocktails at El Jardin. Well, the all knowing Candice quickly mentioned Fernside. Christian Siglin, who designed the cocktails at El Jardin had done the same for Fernside, which opened at the end of September. There was one caveat however; the always diplomatic Candice did warn me about our, ahem, somewhat picky taste and the menu.

Still, once I mentioned Fernside to the Missus, we just had to head on down to the corner of Grape and Fern. The place doesn't even have signage up yet.

We enjoyed the casual, neighborhood vibe of the place, and really love sitting outside and counting the number of dogs being walked past us; or who have their heads sticking out of cars as they drive past.

While the beer selection is nice; but not very wide ranging, the Missus has come to really enjoy the cocktails here. It's like they've tailored them to Her taste; not overly sweet, just stiff enough for Her…and She does love Her Bourbon.

Her current favorite is the Mr Robinson; with the smoky-peanut tones of the Peanut Infused Bourbon, the nice citrus acidity of lime, and the perfect kick from the Serrano Bitters. It has those savory-citrus-smoky-spicy tones in a nicely balanced cocktail, at least for the Missus.

We (I say we because if I order this, the Missus will finish it for me) also enjoy the version of the Old Fashion here; the Old Fernside. It's not overly sweet, and has mild anise tones, balanced out with Bourbon.

It gets kinda scary when I start writing about cocktails using food descriptions.

It's even more scary when I think that my favorite drink here is a beer and a shot……called the "Wolf Killer", it's a Coors Light, yes, you read that right, with a smooth and smoky Montelobos (literally "mountain of wolves") Mezcal.

As for the food? Here's what we've had so far from our the Missus's favorite, working it's way down.

The Missus's favorite item here by far is the Crusty Cauliflower ($6).

Simply dusted with cornmeal and fried, it's crunchy and seasoned nicely. The pickled veggies are pretty good here, but that Buffalo Sauce is not a great pairing; it kills any of the mild sweetness of the cauliflower and is way too sour, but perhaps that's the objective; make you think you're not eating your veggies?

The Missus likes the avocado toast ($9), which I think has a nice texture and goes well on Levain bread, but man, I felt this was so bland.

Best thing about this was the pickled onions. This needed some oomph…..

The "Hot Sausage" ($9) wasn't very "hot". In what is perhaps is a homage to an "Ameri-taco" it's lined with iceberg lettuce.

The brioche was very mild; lacking in buttery goodness, the sausage, called "Cochinita Pibil" on the menu, is a very mild, achiote colored, fairly dense, force-meat product. A bit too mild in flavor; I'd have loved a bit of "snap" on this, it might have helped the experience. The pineapple salsa was fine as it did add some much needed flavor and character to things, but in the end; the Missus, well, I've documented Her love of waffle cut fries before, enjoyed that the most. It had a nice and crisp exterior with a creamy interior.

The Spread Plate ($14), was interesting.

The pickled veggies were my favorite thing; the nutty and slightly sweet beet hummus was next, the chicken liver pate was really salty and lacked the nice livery-rich texture and flavor. The Missus liked the "Kale Pesto", which was too bitter for me; it really reminded me of a bitter tabbouleh. The toasted bread and flat bread provided were decent vehicles; it's just the passengers that I didn't care for.

And then we have the wings, I ordered the Spicy Dry Rub version($11). Well, first off the wings were on the dry side and the skin was rubbery.

The rub had too much paprika and not enough salty and sweet tones making it a bit too bitter for me. Too bad, because based on the color of the flesh, this seemed like decent quality wings; no black splotches and such.

So, will we return to Fernside? Well, you might be surprised when I say "yes". You see, we both enjoy the vibe….and the cocktails. The food? Well, I'm hoping I find something I enjoy on the menu. Still, we just love sitting and watching South Park drive and walk on by…..and counting those dogs……

And as long as that Mr Robinson (and "wolf killers") are going strong. Well, that'll have to be enough for us. At Fernside; where the cocktails are a food group…….

Fernside
1946 Fern St
San Diego, CA 92102
Hours:
Sun – Wed 11am – 1am
Thurs – Sat 11am – 2am

Village Kitchen Revisited

October 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

The weather had cooled off a bit and the Missus was ready for some Chinese food……just not hot pot or skewers…like all those new places serve these days. Hunan Kitchen had closed and She wanted something with a bit of spice. So we thought why not check out Village Kitchen since it had been a while. We went with a bit of trepidation; we'd heard that they had lost kitchen staff and the cooks were now different.

The service was slow, indifferent, and perfunctory.

We started with what I consider to be the best dish at VK; the Eggplant and Green Chili with Preserved Egg.

Smokey eggplant; roasted than pounded into a creamy Babaganouj like state; with a decent amount of slightly spicy peppers and pidan this time around.

The Missus's Dad is from Hunan, so She really enjoys dried and preserved vegetables. Thus, we went ahead and tried the Pork with Dried Cucumber Skin.

The pork was hard and chewy and this wasn't very spicy though the salty-soy flavors were tempered with an interesting finish….that lightly briny cucumber flavor, which really helped to refresh and cleanse the palate.

The Missus loves Her La Rou; Hunan preserved meat and dried bamboo shoots, so we had to order that. We had started to notice that the portion sizes seemed to have increased.

I'm not the biggest fan of the smoked pork here; it's a bit too hard and has a bit of an artificial taste to it; but I do enjoy the crunch of the dried bamboo shoots. This was hitting the peak of saltiness which was amplified by the smoky tones. It was slightly spicy; but man having it sit overnight made it pretty hot the next day. This is a dish where you'll need a lot of rice.

The last dish was an old favorite; the Preserved Long Beans with Chicken Gizzards.

This was really greasy and gloppy and really salty as well. The gizzards had been sliced thinly giving it a nice crunch; but the long beans were much too salty…..the preserved green beans should be very briny; but man, this was just a greasy-sodium bomb.

So how's VK doing almost three years down the line? Well, the service is a little worse, there just seems to be a bunch of young people working with no supervision. The food now is not terrible there are several pretty good items on the menu, but it doesn't seem to be made with the same skill and attention to detail, though the portions seem larger. VK is basically all we have when we want Hunan style food; so I guess we're kind of stuck with it.

Village Kitchen
4720 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117