mmm-yoso – Page 181 – 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.

China Express

December 8, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is working this weekend. I'm sure He is eating, but really, He doesn't want to write about it; he'd rather sleep. Cathy is writing this post.

Tucked in the middle of a bunch of storefronts (many of which Kirk and I have blogged about; some are still there and most are gone-it's the mall with the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and a Carl's. Jr. closest to the street) at the South West corner of Clairmont Mesa Boulevard at Ruffin Road (the other side of Ruffin from the new Kaiser Hospital which used to be the Registrar of Voters office) is China Express.You might notice the sign above the entrance with the "3 items & 1 side order w/soup or canned soda $6.49". The small print at the bottom is "choose only from steam table"- this seems to be what most people order.

The steam table is kept fresh, the side orders consist of steamed rice, fried rice or chow mein.
The egg drop soup is excellent-very eggy and fresh. There is also wonton and hot and sour soup.
All the meals are given in 'to go' containers, even if you are eating in. This is what the three item combo looks like. The dark meat is 'spicy chicken'-it has those jalapeño-looking chilis, which are a bit spicy as the heat component. This chicken is also sweet, I think it's honey. The top left corner is chicken and mushrooms; this was very good. The bottom left is Szechuan chicken-a different, dried chili, lots of vegetables(bell peppers, those little canned corn things and mushrooms) and quite nice. Not a bad meal for $6.99 (with tax).

There is also a six page menu…two of those pages list 30 Monday-Friday lunch specials (all $5.25) and 21 party trays and 30 combination specials.
Under the 'Chef's Specials' portion of the menu, the Hunan Beef ($10.99) was a good choice. It wasn't crazy spicy, despite the small chili on the menu indicating heat; it's pleasant. Since it is made to order, the vegetables are freshly stir fried, still crispy. There is bok choy, celery, onion, red and green bell pepper. The beef was thick cut, tender and plentiful (that container is large). This was a great meal.
The spice and sweet on the General Tso's Bean Curd ($7.50), combined with the light breading and crisp fry made this (very large) serving a new craving.
You may recall that The Mister and I like to try Egg Foo Young from each menu where we see it offered (because no two are ever the same). The chicken Egg Foo Young ($6.75) version here was yet another new experience. The chicken was cut in strips. The egg and onion mix had peas and carrots and scallion bits. The gravy was nice-not too thick and not salty. There were no bean sprouts. This version was great.

It's always fun to find a new (to us) place. I hope your weekend is going well.

China Express 9353 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego CA 92123 (858)277-2388 Open Mon-Fri 10am-9:45 pm, Sat 11 am-9:45 pm, Sun 3 pm-9:30 pm

Perry’s Cafe (Old Town)

December 7, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk has a few busy workdays ahead, so Cathy is writing about food and stuff.

The Mister and I have been trying to walk a bit more (a sort of early New Year Resolution) and there are so many places around San Diego which are not filled with tourists now, that's it's nice to avoid crowds.

Old Town San Diego is a State Historic Park and is filled with tourists during the warm months of the year. Parking is free as is the ability to visit some original buildings, all with written explanations of their original purpose.

There is something to see and learn about at every turn. It's a nice place to visit and learn about the History of San Diego, at your own pace.
Just at the Southwest edge of the park (beyond the Trolley) is Perry's.
Kirk wrote about this old school diner for the first time in 2007 and has mentioned it in other posts. We were here just past noon; not in a breakfast mood.
It was crowded on this weekday and we were seated in the large 'back room'. There is a 'proper' Roman numeral clock (the '4' has four sticks, not three) here. (here are a bunch of theories why).
We each chose a soup of the day: beef vegetable for The Mister,
and lentil-pea soup for me. Each was made in-house, quite flavorful and very satisfying. One was a meal in itself…
…combined with this salad, which was blue cheese dressed (a good quality dressing). Just enough for a light meal. (soup and salad, $7.95)
When walking in the white board special of baked fish ($10) had caught our eye, so it was ordered. Two large pieces of firm white fish (maybe it was cod) lightly breaded and baked to a crisp crunch. Mashed potatoes (with a lovely gravy) and green beans completed this dish. There was enough to share.
A good meal on a nice day. {Unlike whatever happened here last night. Rain, floods and power outages!}

Perry's Cafe 4620 Pacific Hwy San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 291-7121 Open daily 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Website

2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float decorating, dinner at Costa’s Family Restaurant (Covina)

December 5, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog which sometimes includes stories about attainment of the food. Today, Cathy is writing while Kirk is busy at work.

This past Saturday, the 'Dry Decoration Days' for the 130th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade at Phoenix Decorating Company began. Here are some photos of materials and details of what happened. (sentence descriptions are in order of thumbprints) The various colors of statice need to be cut from the stems (after drying a bit). There are crushed peas, yellow straw flowers, some leftover straw flowers from last year. You can see black beans which were tediously placed on some signage (those beans have white 'eyes' which need to be placed away from being seen). There are branches and lunaria ('money plant'-those opaque white circles) and pine cones. The beans use 'oasis glue' to stick to the foam backing. Green pea halves are glued on the 'Service Rocks' signage. The watermelons have the light stripes covered in crushed green peas and the dark stripes are covered in crushed dry parsley. More pine cones are taken apart and the individual acicular shaped leaves (sometimes called needles) are individually placed on the edge of a small 'birdhouse'. Dry materials are stored in large airtight trash cans.
Here's a look at the 'Glue Station' where each type of glue (white and oasis) are picked up (and where unused glue is returned).

Here are some of the 19 floats being decorated here (some floats are still under construction).
The Banner float- first one you will see in the parade. it introduces the theme of "The Melody of Life". Each float will have some sort of way of showcasing music and/or musical instruments. The Grand Marshal of the Parade is Chaka Kahn.
"Service Rocks" sponsored by Rotary International. See…the crocodile…and the title includes 'rocks'…I'm guessing 'Crocodile Rock' is the song for this float.
"Fezzy's garden of Hope and Healing", sponsored by Shriners Hospitals for Children. It's cute, pretty and will be fun to watch. "Rockin the Vest" sponsored by Lions Clubs International. If you recall, I posted a link to the 2011 Lions Club video (titled 'Rockin' the Vest') which was used to recruit new members. Lions Club is the world's largest volunteer organization and members wear distinctive yellow vests when performing community service. The United Sikh Mission is sponsoring "A Divine Melody Resonates in All", featuring a Rabab, a stringed instrument from around AD 900.
"Garden Fresh" has such a cute float design for a new sponsor this year, Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day."Yellow Submarine", sponsored by Western Asset will be. joy to watch as well as hear. Many interesting materials will be used on this float.
"Helping Kids Rock Their Future", sponsored by Kiwanis International is a giant 'jukebox'(the underside of those records are covered with either poppy seeds or black onion seeds).
The American Legion, a Veteran association, is sponsoring "Still Serving America" this year. (All floats have to be able to fit along the parade route in certain areas and so that's why you see 'collapsed' parts, like the eagle head).
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekahs, a service organization, is celebrating "200 years of Harmony" with this delightful calliope featuring flags of some of the countries where they serve.
The American Armenian Rose Float Association is sponsoring another history laden float, "Chanting Stones, Karahunj" and will feature two men dancing atop the 'Singing Stones' of Sisian. The City of Hope is sponsoring "Harmony of Hope", which will be another beautiful float reminding us of The Miracle of Science with Soul. You'll see some DNA strands and other details when the float passes.
"Joy to the World, the Lord is Come" is presented by the Lutheran Hour Ministries and will not only have bells and horns on the float, but also a choir! (we volunteer with the Petal Pushers to decorate floats which helps defray the cost of this, the only Christian themed float, in the Parade for the 69th year).
The entry from Trader Joe's, "Ride, Captain, Ride" has a secret you'll see on January 1. Even without the surprise, it's an attractive float.
The final float in the parade will advertise what's coming up later that day, the 105th Rose Bowl football game. The float is a replica of the bowl and has a replica of the trophy given to the winning team.
The City of Alhambra's float, "Home Tweet Home"is just so very distinguished and cute.

I have had posts showing road tests of most of these floats (Road tests #1 and #2…Road test #3…Road tests #4 and #5…and Road Test #6. 2018 has been long and the parade will be here on January 1, 2019 to kick off a new beginning.

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This is why (most of) you are here…the food portion of this post.

The Mister and I were exhausted and left the float barn at about 4:30. We did have lunch and a light breakfast (at the Kolache Factory) and were ready for a relaxing (seated on real chairs) dinner. We headed back to a spot here we enjoyed breakfasts two weeks in a row-Costa's Family Restaurant in Covina, a few exits east of our Irwindale entrance back onto the 210.The back room had a few Christmas decorations.
My meal came with a salad and I was asked if beets would be OK…of course beets are OK, beets are wonderful!
The Mister had a choice of soups and chicken and dumplings it was…made from scratch. A great soup.
The dinner rolls were, of course, home made.
The Mister ordered the Trout Dinner ($10.49). Lightly pan fried, skin on trout filet served with a house made tartar sauce, tomato-onion green beans and (real) rice pilaf. This food- all of it was wonderful.
I decided on a menu dinner special, Prime Rib ($13.49). Got it with the same green beans and a baked potato. Wonderful, satisfying, most of everything from scratch…what more could we want?
Dessert- included (!) This is a from scratch tapioca pudding. Vanilla…very vanilla.
Bread pudding…caramel bread pudding.

If we lived in Covina, Costa's would be a daily stop.

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

Anchorage – Yamaya Seafood

December 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Alaska, Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, Travel

Once in a while you'll have a meal where perhaps the food wasn't extremely good; but the experience itself is like something out of one of those food-travel shows, the characters or in this case character is somewhat unforgettable. Thus was the case with Yamaya Seafood. A Japanese, yes, "real" Japanese Izakaya-ish restaurant in, of all places Anchorage.

After sleeping off lunch in our "haunted hotel"; we strolled around town a bit. Stopping at several places to browse.

When it came time for dinner; I knew the Missus needed a short respite from the fried food and such and I was curious about a place I'd read about. Located near the Downtown Transit Center is Yamaya Seafood.

It's one of those "blink and you'll miss it" kind of places. I was curious as to how a Japanese; not Americanized-Japanese, but real Japanese restaurant would do in Anchorage. The entrance to the place is located on the side of the building. We accidentally walked in the front door; into what looked like a living room; sofa, television, mats on the floor, the décor really looked like my grandparent's place. And then we were greeted by a little, but quite feisty woman, who totally reminded me of my aunts on Lana'i. I believe her name is Kazuko.

We were ushered into a dining room that really wouldn't be out of place in some little neighborhood in the Japanese countryside. All the while we were regaled with conversation and questions. Eventually, the Itamae/Chef came out; apparently he is Kazuko's son. We placed our orders; this being a one man operation; with Obaachan doing the dining room work, I expected things to take a while. And they did. But man did we enjoy ourselves.

We just sat back had a couple of Sapporo, all the while chatting with Kazuko-chan.

And boy did we have a lot of questions…..and oh my; did she have some answers:

As to why she moved to Alaska – "the clean air and the clean water…….the beautiful mountains"

Where she lived in Japan – "Tokyo; but it is too dangerous and the too much crime" ??????

The cold? – "it's when the air is the cleanest…."

"When we first built our restaurant, you could see the beautiful mountains; but then they built the Marriott and bah, you can't see the mountains anymore…."

"There one cruise ship from Japan that comes in every year; that is our busiest week. We have to open up the dining room upstairs. But people who eat there have to come down and pick up their own food. I'm too old to be walking up and down the steps."

"Japan is too dirty (?????), here the air is so clean and the water is so pure; I want to live a long life…."

At one point the Itamae said "Ma; you need to stop talking. You are repeating yourself and sound senile!"

But we just loved listening to her.

About forty five minutes later the house cold smoked salmon arrived. It was amazingly good.

Rich and oily (in a good way); a nice mild smoked flavor, perfect salt, the texture was nice and meaty. The onion did a good job of cutting the richness.

Unfortunately, the mixed sashimi wasn't so good.

The salmon was excellent as expected; after all; this is Alaska. The hamachi and tako were still slightly frozen, the maguro had a metallic finish; the shrimp was mushy and watery. The shiromi was fine if edging on the fishy side.

Perhaps we should have ordered something else. But heck; I'd pay twenty bucks just for the conversation. Sometimes the experience tops the food and we were learning a bit about life in Anchorage (it ain't easy) from one tough and feisty Obaachan. At, of all places, a Sushi Bar cum Izakaya in Anchorage. Travel is amazing.

Yamaya Seafood Restaurant
825 W 6th Ave
Anchorage, AK 99501

Revisits – Mien Trung and Cafe Dore

December 3, 2018 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of early weekend meals since returning from vacation.

Mien Trung:

MT was actually my first meal after returning from our trip. Our flight arrived quite late; the Missus had to work the next morning, the weather had cooled and I was craving some Bun Bo Hue from Mien Trung.

The fellow….we've been coming here so long, I remembered when I used to refer to him as the "young man", made me feel quite guilt when he said: "it's nice to see you….you only come by once a year these days…."

Anyway, I got the #1; the regular sized bowl.

Scalding, spicy broth, bright lemongrass flavors, a slight funkiness from the shrimp paste; slippery noodles with a nice "pull" to them. I do wish they'd start adding banana blossom back to the veggies; though it was fresh and plentiful. The thinker sliced meat was flavorful and toothsome; I did wish the pork hock had a bit more meat and connective tissue and perhaps the tendon was a bit more tender. But this did hit the spot.

As usual, I wore dark clothing to hide the red dots on my clothes from slurping those noodles. And without fail; I always think about our good friend; Ed from Yuma, who would without fail always wear some light colored shirt when we ate here. He's always leave, smiling, happy, and with a nice little scattering of random red dots from the broth on his shirt. We miss you Ed!

This was a nice bowl on a chilly, damp day.

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Café Dore:

**** Cafe Dore has closed

Ah yes, one place that's still "old school"; Cafe Dore. Man, remember those days when they had the "video game" machines in the back? Except there were older Vietnamese Gentleman "playing" on those "video machines"…..hmmm…. Well, those days are long gone. I recall when the older men used to smoke in the place. On one visit, somebody came to "inspect" and pointed at the "No Smoking" signs posted…..and the guys all looked confused and acted like they didn't understand….and since the signs were posted in English….well, maybe that hasn't changed as two guys were smoking in the place when I arrived. Though I did notice when folks start coming in; the smokers will head outside.

And neither has the about 12:1 ratio of men to women customers in the place. Most women just come in to do take-out orders…..though perhaps this is because I usually visit rather early in the morning? Perhaps most of the old-timers finish up and leave by lunch?

One thing that hasn't changed is the 7am opening and with the Missus having to work early on a weekend morning and waking me up…..well, I was hungry and wanted some noodle soup. Also, my Dry Cleaning Lady, had mentioned that Café Dore had started serving Mi Quang, so I wanted to check it out.

I arrived, sat at a table and was given a menu….right on the top was "Mi Quang Dore"…..I guess their version of Mi Quang.

The broth wasn't bad; it had a nice tongue feel, though it was on the "sweeter" side. I made good use of the nuoc mam to bump up the flavor.

I really enjoyed the veggies….finally, some banana blossom! It was fresh through and through. Though the cracker was on the stale side.

Unfortunately, the noodles were on the overcooked side and there were quite a few smaller pieces of noodle floating around.

The selection of "proteins" was interesting; there was a good amount of chewy pork intestine, which was kind of bland….quail eggs; obviously canned. I didn't have high hopes for the two large shrimp; but it was cooked perfectly, very moist, and slightly sweet.

I quickly noticed that no one else was eating in the place and all eyes were focused on something.

That something was the Lottery Drawing on the screen.

As soon as that was over; half the guys in the place either left or went outside to have a smoke.

I finished up my tea, went to the register and paid for my Mi Quang.

While it wasn't bad; I don't think I'll be having this again. I'll probably go back to my old ways.

For me; Café Dore is an interesting slice of life, something totally different from hipster-rich San Diego. It just seems real and totally reminds me of Vietnam, be it ever so humble. Though without those little plastic "kiddie chairs"!

Cafe Dore
4135 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Paris – Boulangerie Nelly Julien, Musée de l’Orangerie, and Canard Street

December 2, 2018 mmm-yoso Bakery, Chains, Croissants, France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

We slept a bit later than usual on our first morning in Paris. This was good since we’d be doing a bit of walking on this day. We quickly got ready and before heading off to our first stop grabbed some croissants at Boulangerie Nelly Julian which was right around the corner from our apartment.

We were kind of excited about this since Douceurs et Traditions de Nelly Julien had place in the top in the Concours du Meilleur Croissant au Beurre AOC Charentes-Poitou; basically the best butter-croissant competition in Paris over the years.

So of course it was the Croissant au Buerre we had. It was nice and buttery, great balance with salt, but we didn’t enjoy the hard and not flakey exterior and the interior was on the slightly greasy and doughy side. It might have been the wrong day.

The place is indeed popular; there’s always line as we noticed when passing during our stay.

**** This location is now Boulangerie La Parisienne

Nelly Julien Douceurs et Traditions
85 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

It was a quite a nice and clear day as we crossed Pont Alexandre III and walked along the Seine.

We walked past Place de la Concorde and over to Musée de l’Orangerie. I had been wanting to visit this museum for a while. A whole lifetime ago; I had to take an art appreciation class. There’s not much I recall about that class; well, at my age, there’s not much I recall about any class…..however, I remember our instructor loved Monet’s series of painting named the Water Lilies. He liken Claude Monet’s situation at the time of creating this work to Beethoven writing his 9th Symphony while completely deaf. You see; by the time work was being started on this work; Monet was suffering from cataracts and going blind.

The Museum itself is small, it was created to shelter the Orange Trees of Jardin de Tuileries.

Monet’s Water Lilies are displayed in two rooms on the first floor, the rooms have renovated to display this work to the specifications designed by Monet himself.

Monet takes us to his garden in Giverny during different times of the day; the light and reflections play off the natural light in the room. From the peaceful morning to the splashes of bright yellow at Sunset.

The second room features the other foliage around his pond.

You really get the amazing play of natural light when you view the works from different angles; which I found, especially with “Sunset” when returning to the first room from the second.

There’s also the Walter-Guillaume Collection wich features works by Cezanne, Renior, and Picasso.

And some other quite interesting work as well; from classic, to very Modern.

We also saw school tours being done almost everywhere we went; some with children quite young in age. It was fun to watch and listen…..

From the museum; we headed across the Jardin de Tuileries over to Rue de Rivoli.

So, here’s a hint about personal property security when in France. We’ve been here several times and have seen these folks in action. A group of girls; clipboard in hand will approach you to sign some sort of petition. You’ll quickly notice that they will surround you and while you’re distracted, pick your pockets, or the like. So, whenever these groups approach, I simply say, “no…thank you….” and scurry away. Our next stop was in the 3rd Arrondissement, so we walked on over to Rue Étienne Marcel, then to where it became Rue aux Ours to pick up our pocket wifi (or as the French say “weefee”) device. It works real well when you have more than 3 wifi devices.

After this…well….we needed a break. We were fairly close to Rue Montorgueil, so we decided to walk over and grab some espresso….and people watch. We saw a “good dog” doing a wonderful job walking without a leash; until it came across what must be the little fellows favorite market, it was time for a sudden detour as he ran inside.

We also saw these fellows…..

A few years back after having coffee at Les Deux Magots we came across Firefighters selling “hunky” calendars for charity and bought one for a friend of the Missus. So, here we were back in Paris; it was that time of the year I guess. It was a hoot watching the firefighters flirt with all the girls and especially the older women…..most of whom ended up buying a signed calendar!

While having our caffeine fix; the Missus and I discussed lunch. I mentioned a bunch of places in the area and others a mile and change away. I had a nice list from that area since we’d be staying in the 2nd on our return trip to Paris.

I mentioned this new “chain” from Lille had just opened a shop in Paris; right on Rue des Petit Champs, named Canard Street. This is basically what they call a “Street Food” concept…think fast casual; but it ain’t your typical “fast casual”. The Missus sounded quite excited; even though I told Her we’d be basically staying right around the corner from the place….She just wanted it “now”.

I know; it looks like any other fast casual restaurant on the street…..

But, think about the name….Canard Street….then think about the items on the menu; Foie Gras Sandwiches, Duck Confit “Burgers”, Magret Tartare……

And what we got; for the nice price of 18 Euros; the simply named “Planche Canard Street”…..basically a charcuterie board.

Yikes…..man, this was like I died and went to duck heaven. Actually, the items were all decent; and the foie gras terrine and the saucisson de magret were excellent. The duck rillete and Saint-Nectaire (cheese) were really good. The baguette was passable and this was a load of food.

The Missus even had a glass of wine….I got a Coke Zero.

Man, this was quite a lunch…….and you definitely got your money’s worth.

Canard Street Paris
16 rue des Petits Champs
75002 Paris, France

It was time to head back to the apartment and sleep off all that duck……

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris – A Revisit to Les Cocottes

December 1, 2018 mmm-yoso France, French Restaurants, Paris, France, Travel

**** Christian Constant, the original owner for Les Cocottes has retired. You can find an updated post on Les Cocottes here.

We usually have our trips planned in advance; by the time we return from one, we know where we're going two trips ahead. Thus, by the time we returned from Emilia-Romagna, we had our flights to Paris booked. From there it was just putting all the pieces together. In the end; we decided to enjoy France a bit more this time around….nothing overly fancy, just enjoy the vibe. And of course; it doesn't hurt that Paris is the Missus's favorite city by far.

The Missus still loves the 7th Arrondissement, so we decided to stay there when we arrived. We knew the area fairly well making things quite easy. Our flight didn't get in until nearly 8pm and by the time we arrived at the apartment it was almost 9. The place I picked out this time was much more spacious than on our last visit. It was farther from Avenue Bosquet and Avenue de la Bourdannaise, but we enjoy the location, it was quieter, closer to the metro, yet the Missus's favorite sight was just down the street.

Even though we had arrived late; the Missus just had to get out and take walk to across Pont Alexandre III and of course down Rue Saint-Dominique, then across the Seine for Her favorite view of the Eiffel Tower.

We hadn't expected to be hungry; we'd eaten on our flight and had a snack at the Galleries Lounge at Heathrow. But this walking had made us hungry. We did not want; however to have a huge meal. I mentioned Les Cocottes to the Missus. We'd enjoyed the nice, simple fair there before……it was, in fact, the first meal we ever had in Paris, for the same reasons.

Even though it was nearly 1030 pm, we were greeted with smiles and grabbed seats at the bar. We'd have to get our orders in quick before the kitchen closed. This was no problem as we already knew what we wanted.

I started with a Leffe and the Missus a nice glass of red.

We started with the simple country style pate. It was satisfying; not overly rich, but still substantial. A mild, pleasant liveriness, rustic in nature, just enough filler. A humble, but very pleasing dish; just what we needed.

The other dish we got was the Poached Egg with Bacon and Rocket Salad. This was even better than what we had here several years back.

The lardons had a perfect balsamic vinegar glaze; it was crunchy, yet toothsome at the same time. The egg was poached nicely, adding a rich, creaminess to the dish, and we do prefer simply dressed arugula as was the case here.

This was just what we needed; nothing too fussy or filling. The staff here was so friendly, smiling and asking us questions, and making sure we enjoyed our meal.

There was one more interesting difference from our meal here several years back; the place was filled with a mix of locals and regular tourists. The loads of Korean tourists weren't in sight. Perhaps they've moved on to their latest spot….which I think we might have run into later on.

Anyway, this was a nice; satisfying, low-keyed start to our time in France.

Les Cocottes de Christian Constant
135 rue Saint-Dominique
Paris, 75007

Thanks for reading!

It’s Fry-day – A Revisit to Mr Fish and Chips

November 30, 2018 mmm-yoso Seafood

I had a bunch of errands to run the weekend before our trip to France. The clock was striking 11 and I was getting hungry. I really didn't want to eat at any of the "chains" in the area and other places didn't open until at least 1130. Coming out of CVS; I recalled not having been back to Mr Fish and Chips in over four years! Heck; I'd be getting my share of tete de veau, foie gras, and other goodies soon enough. Why not have some fried food for a change?

The place was pretty quiet when I arrived.

Not much has changed over the years (can you believe I first posted about this place in 2007??); except the prices of course; the Fish Combo was now $11.99. And it looks like they give you a little "trolley" with every sauce in the world when you receive your food.

I had no complaints about the fish…..

The crisp and crunchy batter was nice; not greasy in the least. The fish was moist, with no off flavors. Of course, with this brand of Malt Vinegar I had to use a ton of it to dial it up to my "taste" (the tartar sauce is super bland).

The fries…ummm chips; were limp, dry, and like cardboard; there was no remedy for that.

The coleslaw was generically decent; I used more malt vinegar on it as I thought it needed some oomph. But it was nicely chilled, the veggies crisp, and not overly dressed.

The owner was much more "chatty" then I recalled. As the place filled up, it seemed like he knew a good number of customers.

In the end; the meal was quite consistent with what I've had here over the years. And that's not a bad thing…..every four-five years or so.

Mister Fish & Chips
5647 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 11am – 830pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 9pm
Closed on Sundays

Modena – Ristorante da Danilo

November 29, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Trains are interesting in Italy; it seems like they are always late. Our train from Ferrara to Bologna was 15 minutes late; which made me worry, since we had a 14 minute transfer time in Bologna for our train to Modena. I shouldn't have worried since our Bologna connection was 25 minutes late!

We arrived in Modena and made our way to the lovely apartment which was located right the edge of downtown Modena. It was spacious and the interior had been upgraded. The owner was not able to meet us; but her dad, a jolly and friendly gentleman did. While he spoke no English; he did a great job of showing us around and even wrote down a dinner recommendation for us!

I actually tried calling the restaurant for dinner reservations; but as soon as they heard English, they hung up on me!

We freshened up and took a short stroll…..I didn't take too many photos; only a few of Piazza Roma and Palazzo Ducale.

We also did a bit of shopping; checking out a Balsamic Vinegar (after all; this is Modena) shop and wandering around a bit.

Returning to the apartment, we took a short nap, and then decided to head out for dinner. In spite of being hung up on; we headed off to Risorante da Danilo to see if we could get a table.

Which we did. Initially, our Server was a rather serious, not very friendly woman…….we both gave her a hearty "buona serra" and got a one-second smile before the edges of her mouth returned to their locked downward position. The Missus and I just couldn't help but crack up. After seeing some of the rather demanding non-local customers during our meal; I could understand how folks here could become a bit jaded.

And of course, some Lambrusco makes everything better, no?

We started our meal here in the same manner as other meals in Emilia-Romagna….with Salumi and of course Culatello. I just couldn't get enough of the stuff.

The prosciutto was quite good, meltingly tender, with a nice funky-cheesy finish. The culatello wasn't of the best quality, but was sliced nice and thin. And of course the torta fritta; here it was a bit thicker; making it more crunchy than crisp, though it was still wonderful with the cured meats. The Pecorino was on the "young" side but had a nice milkiness to it.

The Missus it seems, just couldn't get enough of the funghi in the region and went with the Papardelle con Funghi Porcini.

Man, the pasta was perfectly al dente, soft, yet with a pleasant stretch. The porcini added such a pleasant earthy-savory, almost sweetness to things. As with all the pasta in the region; it was nicely coated, but not drenched…..you had the means of really enjoying the flavors and pasta evenly.

While the Missus couldn't get enough porcini…well; I just couldn't get my fill of……tortellini. En Brodo de Cappone of course.

The tortellini were wonderful; slight savory-cheesy bliss, the perfect pasta….each tiny little morsel made by hand. Which is why it's usually the most expensive pasta on the menu. The broth was light but had a nice poultry flavor….that old hen surely gave her life for a noble cause.

Simple, pure, and basic seems to work the best in Emilia-Romagna.

By this time our Server had warmed up to us. We were enjoying our meal and were low maintenance, eating things as it should be…..she was actually smiling and stopping by to see how we were doing. The Emilia-Romagna warmth and friendliness was perhaps dormant at first…..but it could not help but push itself to the surface in the end.

We really enjoyed our dinner here.

Ristorante da Danilo
Via Coltellini 31
Modena, Italy

We strolled through Piazza Roma again.

Past the Monument to Ciro Menotti.

And into the Modena night…….

House of Pho

November 28, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

One of my coworkers wanted to know what I thought of this little shop off Plaza in National City. So, I thought I'd head down to check them out. I was forewarned about the "interesting" service that "MG" sometimes got here.

The little shop is a simple set-up; the menu is status quo for these type of shops.

The young lady who waited on me; was well….different; she dropped off the menu at the table and just stood there, not impatiently mind you, she just stood there blankly looking at….well almost through me, not saying a word. This wasn't say; the perfunctory service of, for example Pho Hoa, this was just silence. I placed my order, she grabbed the menu, turned and walked away; uttering not a word.

I had gone with the well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe.

The portion of sprouts and basil was also average for most pho places these days; rather sparse, but at least fresh.

The broth was cloudy, not very rich, lacking in anise/beef tones, and mostly just salty. Sorely in need of a flavor injection; more cilantro, onions, or anything…..

The noodles were over-cooked and on the mushy side.

The meatballs were the typical squeaky, flavorless orbs; the well done steak tasteless, the one piece of tendon thick and tough; the chewy flank had some beefiness, ditto the brisket, and there were two little "wisps"of tripe.

My check was silently placed on my table; the silent Server, turned and walked away. I did hear her talk to the other woman working…..she just didn't speak to me at all. This was kind of odd.

There really wasn't any reason to return. But a few months later….yes months; I decided to just come back and try something else.

The same young lady was working; same blank stare, same silence…….. I started with the Garlic Wings.

Which arrived sizzling hot and crisp. It really lacked any substantial seasoning though…..not much garlic, or anything else going on here. The skin got mushy rather quickly, lots of black spots in the flesh, whose texture was a bit chewy in spots. I'm thinking there was some oxidation and freezer burn going on here as there was that slightly off flavor in spots.

I had also ordered the Bo Kho; the Beef Stew.

This was basically pho broth with bo kho base. In a completely opposite manner; the broth was super greasy, had a metallic finish to it, and lacked the beefy, tangy, mild-anise/peppery spice of a decent beef stew. It was quite salty and I used a good amount of the lime trying to balance out the flavor of the broth….to no avail.

The beef in the stew were strangely provided in tough and dry "rolls"

The banh pho was decently prepped this time around and had some "pull" to them.

My check silently arrived at my table…….

I decided to see if I could actually get a response from the young lady serving me and when I saw this…..

I had an opening…perhaps the young lady was just shy? I asked her if the owners were from Hawaii? The young lady gave me a blank stare; took my money, turned around and walked away. She did say something to the other woman working who laughed. I guess I just wasn't worth but a single word or response. Strange…..

House of Pho
3120 E Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Sun – Fri 10am – 9pm
Saturday 10am – 10pm