mmm-yoso – Page 216 – 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.

Hida-Takayama – Hida Folk Village and Lunch at Maruaki

September 9, 2017 mmm-yoso Hida-Takayama and Gifu Prefecture, Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Steakhouse, Travel

Sitting right behind the Engineer made our 2 hour and change train ride from Nagoya go by rather quickly. It was very interesting to watch the Engineer and the different hand signals he used. We arrived at Takayama Station and made our way to the rather humble Hotel Hana. I'd read a bit about Takayama, or to be more precise when talking to Japanese about the town; Hida-Takayama to differentiate the town from others named Takayama. There's a rather well known Old Town, some charming sights, but I had the town on our itinerary for one specific dish….more on that later.

After dropping off our bags. It was too early for check-in. The front desk person didn't speak a lick of English, so you gotta love Google translate. We headed off, stopping first to take a look at the marbled Hida Beef. Hida Beef, especially "Hida-gyu" (versus Hida Wagyu) is considered by many to be even more delicate, with thinner muscle fibers than Kobe beef and is much treasured. We stopped at Maruaki to take a look.

I gotta say; the beef looked quite impressive. This coming from a guy who has had A5 Kobe Beef in said city.

We did stick around very long since I wanted the Missus to check out Hida Folk Village (Hida-no-Sato, 飛騨の里), which was, according to the friendly woman at the TI stand; about 45 minute to an hour walk, or a ten minute bus ride up the hill. Guess which the Missus choose?

Actually, it was a very nice walk. In spite of the sun it was fairly cool. In fact, the day before we arrived I checked the temperature for Takayama and this is what I saw.

I sent this to a friend of mine in San Diego and she said; "oh, it's about the same in San Diego!" And then I mentioned this was in Fahrenheit not Celsius!

It had actually snowed two days before we arrived! During the first week of April. The air was crisp and clean; it was a nice walk as we got to take in the sights along the way.

Including the Teddy Bear Eco-Village. For real…….

And yes, that's snow….. And no, we didn't stop here. Though perhaps you might if you visit Takayama.

There's a certain charm to Hida-Takayama that, combined with a cool weather really put us into a good mood.

In fact, we were in such a good mood when we arrived that we decided to take the touristy photo…..

So who's that charming red faced character….no not me, the other three? Well, we had no idea! We saw this character everywhere, so later in the afternoon, I went to the TI and asked. Turns out, these little fellows are known as Sarubobo (さるぼぼ), which literally means "Monkey-baby". Traditionally, grandmothers in Gifu Prefecture would make these doll for their grandchildren. It's a good luck charm and both of us wished that we'd actually bought one for us….a Sarubobo of our own! Next time for sure.

Hida Folk Village is an open air museum; with 30 structures, some close to 500 years old, many of them moved from their original villages to preserve them.

Of note are the gasshō-zukuri styled houses, thatched roofs built at a steep angle like hands joined together in prayer (gassho).

The farmhouses are beautifully preserved and we get a look into how daily life was in these villages.

And the traditions…..

The snow on the structures and the fact that we had the place almost all to ourselves really added to the atmosphere.

Just think; if we'd arrived just two days earlier, we wouldn't be walking around quite as much.

We took a short break and got some drinks from the ever present vending machines.

And bade our farewell to Hida Folk Village. If you're ever in the area; a visit is highly recommended.

We headed back down to Takayama. The walk had done its work on our appetites. While walking back, we decided to head back to Maruaki and check out the restaurant. Which is located right next to the shop.

The place was doing some major business and the crowd seemed mostly tourists of all nationalities.

On the wall are photos of the farmers who provide the beef for Maruaki.

And while most folks were ordering one of the set meals of Hida Beef; there was one item I was after – Hoba Miso Yaki.

This dish from the Gifu area is meat and vegetables, with local miso grilled on Magnolia (Hoba) leaves. The Missus loved the version we've had at Okariba in Kyoto, so when planning this trip, I added Hida-Takayama to the itinerary.

The meat was very tender, the beefiness mild, as was the miso, beany-nutty, but not too salty. It almost felt criminal to eat such good quality beef this way; mixed with miso and vegetables.

The meal came with a simple salad; very crisp and refreshing, a light sesame dressing.

Salads can be quite expensive in Japan and I think the Missus was missing this; so we ordered a Beef Salad. Man, the seared beef in this was very tender and tasty.

Service was so-so, fairly professional, quite detached, probably a bit jaded with having to work with tourists all the time.

But we enjoyed our meal.

Hidagyu Maruaki
6-8 Tenmanmachi
Takayama 506-0025, Gifu Prefecture

Now it was time to check in and take a load off.

Thanks for reading!

Tip Top Meats (Again)

September 8, 2017 Cathy German Restaurants and Food, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog, originating in San Diego County, which is 4200 square miles large. Cathy is writing today's post because both Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) haven't much to write about.

It's been nine months since I last wrote about Tip Top Meats, even though The Mister and I have stopped here about once a month. Didn't want to bore you. ( Here are links to other posts: 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015).
This time, it's a lunch. The lunch plates come with a choice of soup or salad. The salads are pre-wrapped and generic, arriving with a packet of salad dressing…nothing special, but the soups are made daily and always interesting. Clam Chowder is a new choice here, primarily because of neighboring Top Choice Fish Market and Eatery, also under the same ownership. It's a nice chowder, not overly creamy, with diced bits of potato, fresh herbs and chopped clam pieces. The 'Lentil soup' did indeed have lentils as well as a beef filled gravy 'broth' and large potato pieces. Unique (and tasty). The Smoked Pork Chop plate ($10.98, with $1 off that day, a whiteboard special) came with a choice of cabbage on the side (got both white and red) (white kraut has bits of bacon in it and is sour; red kraut is sweet and has apple, no meat) as well as choice of potato (mashed, fried or (our choice)German potato salad) and a fresh roll. The potato salad is warm, has a vinegary component and is a good choice with these two large smoked pieces of pork. What a meal! There were leftovers(one whole pork chop), enjoyed with breakfast the next day. The Schnitzel plate, topped with an over easy egg ($10.98) is a wonderful meal. The pork cutlet (German style is made with pork, not veal) is stuffed with ham and cheese, breaded and fried. Topped with gravy and the egg, each bite can be a combination of textures and flavors. You can see that the mashed potatoes and gravy as well as the combination of krauts were the sides chosen for this. Meaty, savory, crispy, smooth, sweet, sour and savory. Always a good choice.

Tip Top Meats and European Delicatessen 6118 Paseo Del Norte Carlsbad, CA 92009 Website open daily 6 am-8 pm The largest licorice selection I've ever found that wasn't online!

La Miche Kabobgee Revisted

September 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants

**** Sadly, La Miche has closed

I'd been wanting to revisit La Miche for a while, it's a favorite of ours during hot spells. For some reason, I'd had bad timing and gone when the place was closed. Finally, with a normal lunch hour at hand, I was able to return.

It seems that La Miche has done away with the lunch specials menu. So, I would be able to order mezze during….though mezze for one just didn't seem right, so I went through the menu and ordered the Makloubi (Makloubeh).

As is the norm, things started with a nice refreshing salad.

And hummus with flat bread. I think the bread here has gotten better over time, but it's still not in the league of, say, Alforon as it gets hard quite quickly. The hummus is very mild in flavor, but perhaps that's how folks like it.

The main course is quite substantial. Makloubeh literally means "upside down" in Arabic and this dish is presented in that manner.

The dish is a nice mélange of flavors and textures. The base of cauliflower and a very tasty eggplant is quite good; the rice is moist and full of flavor. The chickpeas, peas, and almonds add a nuttiness and a nice textural contrast to things. The lamb; well, I thought it the weakest link in the dish, decent gamey flavor, but it was dry and in all honesty, if the rice was cooked in the lamb stock, I could have done without it.

The portion size was pretty large so I brought the leftovers home. The Missus loved he veggies, but said She said the lamb was too dry.

In the end, I was happy to see La Miche had their regular menu available all day; I'll be bringing folks over to share mezze. I still believe it's those dishes that shine here.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Red Card Cafe Revisited

September 5, 2017 mmm-yoso European Restaurants, Gastropub, Salads

** Red Café has closed

A few months back; Red Card Café brought on a new chef. Looking at the Chef's Bio we were intrigued at some of the places mentioned. We had enjoyed our New Year dinner at Red Card and was already happy to see things were looking up in our neighborhood. So with this news we decided it was time to head back to Red Card. Instead of making just one or two visits; we've been back almost ten times as we found the menu interesting, at times a bit strange, but with some really good dishes.

The current menu; which was fully implemented in August is much more grown up. It also seems more seasonally focused.

Over the last five or six years, we've often found that appetizers and small plates are the way to go for us. Kitchens will often take a bit more chances and stretch out a bit. Our strategy at Red Card was no different.

So, what are our favorites?

The Missus's numero uno, to the point that She's had it probably four times is the Braised Spanish Octopus ($13).

The octopus has always been perfectly fork tender, though on one occasion it was too salty. The Missus is a big fan of puy lentils and these have always been cooked to a pleasing texture, holding their shape well, with a slight green-peppery flavor. The Romesco sauce is nicely balanced; not too much garlic, but very nice. The only thing we think is just okay are the toasts which have been really hard on several visits.

We enjoy the salads….pick one; we've enjoyed them all, though I think the Missus's favorite is the Arugula & Stone Fruit ($9).

Perfectly dressed; the white balsamic dressing had that hint of sweetness, the crisp arugula and the frisee balanced the scales with peppery bitterness. I'm not a big fan of fruit in my salad; but I thought the nectarines really added a bit of tart-sweetness to the salad. I'm also glad that feta was used with some restraint.

I realized that I said I'm not a big fan of fruit in my salad; but my favorite is the Prosciutto and Fig ($10).

Great salty and complex fruity-sweetness, along with the wonderful nuttiness of the pistachios made this very enjoyable. The cheddar wasn't too sharp and added a little milky-smokiness to the salad.

We also enjoyed the Beet Salad ($10).

Sweet beets, tart-sour-anise-crisp pickled fennel; frisee nicely dressed.

I mentioned how much we enjoy the salads here and was told the produce comes from Chino Farm.

An item on the menu that caught my attention was the Watermelon Poke ($10). I've seen it floating around on websites; a trendy take for vegetarians on the poke bowl. Frankly, I didn't expect much, but this was better than I thought it would be.

Kinda looks like fish, huh? The cubes of watermelon had been transformed and the flavor of sesame oil and a touch of sourness (ponzu sauce) had been infused into the watermelon. Seems like perhaps sous vide at work? The watermelon ends up being only slightly sweet with nice savory tones. The Missus didn't care much for this…….the texture and the flavor kind of threw her off. Hence, you know why there's not too much molecular gastronomy going on in the mmm-yoso household.

The Duck Liver Mousse ($8), seemed perfect for us.

There is however, the concept of "too much of a good thing". The mousse was very rich with a pronounced sweet-livery flavor.

A bite or two would have been perfect. A jar of it was way too much and it became a bit of a chore trying to finish it.

Also having only four crostini for a jar of this size was too little….you'd be basically having to eat one-fourth of a jar of the mousse on every slice of toast.

Fine at first……way too much at the end….even when trying to use the cornichons and cherry jam (the mousse was already sweet and the jam took it too far) to cut the richness.

The Umami Wings ($9) were a bit interesting.

Actually "strange" might be more apt since the "secret" seasoning really tasted like some versions of Guai Wei Can Dou (guai wei = "strange flavored") I've had.

The powder seemed to detract from the crispness of the wings. These were also a bit too salty.

As you can tell, these are smaller wings, which I don't mind since the skin to meat ratio is increased.

On one of my solo visits I ordered the Cauliflower Gratin ($10).

There was too much cheese for my liking in this and the overall dish came across as too salty. In fact, the overall milky saltiness reminded me of the Mousse tiede d'epoisse we had at Aupres du Clocher in Pommard. Again, too much of a good thing. As luck would have it, I also ordered the Beef Tallow Fries ($6). Which when dipped or mixed into the gratin tasted really good. How ironic; my dish ended up being sort of a potato gratin in the end. This was so rich that I finished only about a third of the dish.

There's only been one item on the menu I totally didn't care for. The Spam Mususbi Arancini ($9). Now, coming from the islands, I was kind of interested to see how this would turn out.

First off, as you can tell, these were fried too "hard". To me arancini should be crisp with a certain lightness to it. The breading was hard as rock. Second, I couldn't taste the Spam….I really didn't like the salty-teriyaki flavor. The sriracha mayo just made things worse as it covered up all the other flavors…….pass.

Still, once we've found the items we like at Red Card, it's been smooth sailing.

Red Card Rev 17 There's a nice neighborhood feel to the place. The owners and staff are very friendly. The food sure has risen to another level. It's great to see things in our neighborhood are looking up.

Now, I'm wondering if they're going to have New Year's dinner this year? I hope so…..

Red Card Café
4140 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Szechuan Impression (Alhambra)

September 4, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

So, work has me going up to Irvine occasionally these days. It makes for a long drive, so recently, I had sessions all day and the Missus was off, we decided to head up and spend the night. I had wanted to stay in our old 'hood, Hacienda Heights, but the Missus wanted to be fairly close to my location so She wouldn't have to drive far to drop me off and then could do whatever She wanted. turns out She'd been working so hard and slept thru my texts when all my meetings were over. So I ended up having a nice 2 1/2 mile walk to the hotel. Which wasn't too bad; though it was pretty hot on Chapman.

And things seemed a bit seedy as well….I kind of stood out walking up the street and two different guys asked me if I was interested in "stuff". Strange.

Anyway, I got back to the hotel and we headed off for dinner. The Missus was really missing good Chinese food, specifically Sichuan. My first thought was a visit to Chengdu Taste, but since I'd recently checked out the Rowland Heights location, I thought we should visit Szechuan Impression, which has been creating quite buzz since opening a few years back. Yes, it's been that long since both the Missus and I have been able to take our time visiting our old stomping grounds. And yes, we've really missed the food in the SGV….but really haven't missed the traffic. A whopping 75 minutes from Garden Grove to Alhambra, without an accident to be seen.

I had actually planned well for this as we arrived right before Sichuan Impression opened.

This restaurant is on the small side; though there seems to be outdoor seating. Like the nice clean and well lit interior. We also enjoyed the rather professional service….we watched a couple come in with a young boy and the Server actually brought a little child's bowl for him.

We decided on a couple dishes from the menu. I love Sichuan Liang Mian, but have struggled to find anything like the version at Ba Ren, which closed in 2012. So, I had to order that here, since I'd heard good things about this version.

This was a disappointment. The sauce wasn't bad; though it was spicy enough, not enough vinegar tones, not enough sweet, not enough garlic….not enough. The noodles were a disaster; really hard and crumbly, with no "pull" at all.

Of course we had to have the Toothpick Lamb, which was better than what I had at Chengdu Taste in Rowland Heights.

The meat had been cooked at least twice, since the interior was pleasantly toothsome, which indicates some sort of braise and the exterior light and crisp. Good amount of cumin going on; with some spice, and a touch of the Sichuan Peppercorn signature numbing effect. I appreciated the cilantro, still don't enjoy the toothpicks, and the Missus wanted a bit more salt on this.

I miss the winey-porky-slightly sweet Chinese style sausages that Missus grew up eating in China. The closest facsimile we've had in the states had been at QingDao Bread. It was pretty hot out; so I ordered the "Impressive Sausage".

I enjoyed these a lot; nice cured pork flavor, decent wine, nice heat. The texture was a bit on the crumbly versus the nice waxy side and it wasn't salty enough. There was a smokey component to this that was seemed strangely reminiscent of paprika to me. The Missus wasn't going for this; as Her "Northern Sausage genes" kicked in….not enough wine, no sweetness, not salty enough, wrong texture. Still, I really liked this.

I didn't care for the Mapo Tofu.

There seemed to be a rather medicinal taste to this dish that was somewhat off-putting to me. It hit the Missus as well, but the more She ate it the more She enjoyed this. Loved the texture of the tofu; good "ma" (numbing), but not enough "la" (heat).

As we ate, we noticed that all the customers, save the couple with the young child, coming in were young. It seems that this is the new wave of Chinese regional restaurants, catering to the younger, "hipper" crowd of Chinese. The dishes aren't as salty, use less oil, and isn't quite a spicy. The Missus and I enjoyed the portion sizes as it seems that trend of "quantity over quality" is coming to an end. Cuisine isn't like the Mona Lisa, it's not a moment caught in time, it is constantly shifting. Though our meals are moments caught in time and we keep reaching for that moment…….and to be honest; for now I prefer the more traditional.

So, as it seems that another trip to China is not in the works; I'll keep searching for some good Sichuan Liang Mian.

Szechuan Impression
1900 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803

Arely (Again)

September 3, 2017 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, French Restaurants, Salads, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!! on this sweltering day. I hope you are staying cool! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy today. Cathy is writing this post.

Beginning in 2007, I posted twice about Arely, then waited until 2014 for an update, with Kirk writing his observations in 2016 and I chimed back in most recently in June 2017. Well, here we are again…because A) We like it here, and 2. It's convenient with recent events bring us to this part of town. One morning, the Breakfast ClubSandwich ($10.50) was a choice. The fresh baked (here) whole wheat bread, in three slices, is filled with fried egg, ham, bacon, avocado and Romaine. It's a wonderful sandwich and is quite large. This Ham and Cheese Crepe ($8.20) is filled with ham, eggs and cheese. It's wonderful! "Monkey Breakfast"($7.49) {listed as a whiteboard special, behind the cash register} was priced slightly less than the 'regular' French toast (which is $7.75), so we ordered it, thinking it was just a banana sauce over regular french toasted bread- but it was the most delightful use of leftover banana bread turned into French Toast! I'm quite fond of various quick breads and to have slices dipped in egg then fried to a light crisp, with the center still being a (quite great version) of banana bread…wow! Unexpectedly wonderful. One visit here was on a Friday (when I don't eat meat) so the Brie Cheese Salad ($8.25) was my order. A quite large salad of various lettuces, fresh tomato and bell pepper, onions…a nicely tart strawberry balsamic and a split baguette, toasted and topped with melted slices of a quality Brie cheese…just a perfect accompaniment.
A visit here usually includes an appetizer; French onion soup ($3.50/cup, $4.80/bowl). It's just wonderful-the stock made with fresh herbs, the onions…the cheese…slices of French bread…
The pastry cases, seen when you walk in…leaned against while waiting to order… The almond croissant ($3). A reason to stay seated, relax and enjoy with a cup of coffee. Just delightful.

Arely French Bakery Cafe 4961-A Clairemont Drive 92117 (858)270-1910 Tues-Sat 7:00 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun-Mon 7:00 a.m.-7 p.m.

Quebec City – Lunch at Le Saint-Armour

August 31, 2017 mmm-yoso Canada, Canada Food and Restaurants, Fine Dining, French Restaurants, Memorable Meals, Quebec City, Travel

We decided to cap off a fun morning in QC, with a nice lunch. During our walk around QC the previous day, we wandered away from Rue Saint-Jean and came across one of the restaurants I had on my list; Le Saint-Armour. The lunch menu, while not cheap, looked interesting. One of the Servers came out and chatted with us. Since the restaurant was a short detour from the way back to the hotel; we decided to stop and have lunch.

We were led to our table by the nice gentleman who chatted with us yesterday. He even remembered us.

The elegant, though simple exterior of the restaurant belies the charming, classy, and quite elegant dining area. A garden like ambiance, what seems to be a former courtyard is topped with a glass ceiling….the natural light and colors just give the place so much character. Quite romantic…..

It was easy to pick our choices from the lunch menu…I think we're getting a bit predictable these days….

The baguette was lovely and warm; which doesn't seem to be the norm in QC.

And of course, I started with the Foie Gras.

The foie gras was very refined; super smooth, perhaps too much for my tastes these days; which is now evolving to enjoy more earthy flavors. The purees were interesting; Sea Buckthorn Jelly, slightly bitter with a touch of tanginess and sweetness, and "Apple Spruce", which tasted like a basic apple based sauce.

The Missus's choice was more interesting, called "Asparagus Elegance".

The asparagus had such a nice, pronounced flavor, it seems that vegetables really shine in this part of the world. The parma ham was tender and added a nice salty component to the dish as did the cheese; a washed rind cheese from Charlevoix (in Canada), which added a fairly mild, milky-acidity to the dish. Of course there was that perfectly poached quail egg.

The Missus got the Pork Cheek for Her main, which She loved.

The mushrooms and sunchokes really added nice earthy tones to the dish. The pork cheek was perfectly braised…spoon tender; though the sauce was a bit too strong for my taste.

I got the "Red Deer"….possibly the most tender venison I've ever had.

I could cut that venison with my fork! The jus was seasoned perfectly and added a velvety, earthy elegance. The Missus loved the cauliflower and sweet potato purees. And that one lovely piece of mushroom in the corner had me wishing for a whole plate of it.

Dessert, is of course the Missus's department and She enjoyed both.

I thought the chocolate cake was very nice….not too sweet.

And then there was my shining moment. While waiting for coffee service, I walked over to the restroom. As I was returning, a party of four middle aged Asian women walked up and told the hostess, "we have reservations for xxxxxx". They were Japanese! They sat at the table right in front of us. The Missus was quick to point out the 20k Hermes bag one of the women had. They spoke very little English and the good natured Server was trying his best to explain items on the menu to them. In the end he smiled and said; "Madam, I can explain the menu in five languages….unfortunately, Japanese is not one of them…." I decided to seize the moment, walked up to the table, bowed slightly, and said "sumimasen", one of the few words I know in Japanese. Luckily, when it comes to food…perhaps it wasn't perfect, but I was able to go down the menu and say…."hotate……buta tontoro (while pointing to my cheek)…rokuniku….bīfu-sutoroganofu……." all the four women made that Japanese game show sound "aaaah"! They then asked me if I am Japanese and I mentioned that I'm sansei….so speak very little Japanese. They all thanked me and went ahead and ordered. I walked back to the table head held up high! As the Missus smirked, shook Her head, and said; "you're such a show off!" But even She couldn't bring me down. Heck, I milked what little Japanese I knew!

And heck, Le Saint-Armour was probably the best meal we had during this trip. Great food, superb service…..

Le Saint-Amour
48 Rue Sainte-Ursule
Quebec City, Quebec

We did some shopping at Place Royale on the way back to the room. Picking up a few gifts.

The Missus looked at this shop and laughed…..

Nope it's not "Prada"….it's Frada!

We were having a great time in Quebec City!

Los Palmitos (revisits)

August 31, 2017 Cathy Taco Shops, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog which we (Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy) thank you for stopping by to read some of our sometimes interesting and sometimes mundane posts about meals consumed. Cathy is writing about a typical San Diego Taco shop today.

According to the phone book, San Diego has over 200 'Taco Shops' within its 4200 square miles. I think everyone has a couple of favorite, conveniently located shops-one close to home and one close to work, maybe a handful of others where they stop in for a quick bite or to go meal. Los Palmitos is one of ours, despite only blogging about it twice; in 2008 and again in 2012.

The exterior was upgraded within the past year. New. Old.

It's not air conditioned, but being shaded keeps the eating area a bit cooler than just being under umbrellas.

When you have a 'for here' order, fresh fried corn chips and cups for the salsa bar are provided.
The salads here are refreshing; lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickled onions and cojita cheese, topped with (in this case) carne asada. ($7)A simple shrimp ceviche tostada ($5) is just perfect on some days; not too large, but definitely not small. My 'usual order here is the whole fried fish ($12.50)Which I enjoy completely. This is a grilled chicken salad ($7), similar to the carne asada one, above. You can see the cilantro-lime dressing on the chicken, which is so refreshing.
Sometimes, I crave fried items and the 'side order' (no rice or beans) of beef flautas ($5) satisfies. On chilly days, the fish soup ($10) is just perfect. Large pieces of fish, plenty of vegetables in a seafood/tomato broth. It really hits the spot.

Stay cool!

Los Palmitos Taco Shop 5145 Clairmont Mesa Boulevard (between Limerick and Longford) San Diego 92117

(858)974-1946 Open 8 a.m.-midnight, daily Website

Why, yes, the first photos are from meals prior to the addition being built. These above photos show the new plates being used as well as the new tabletops.

It's hot, I wanted to post about a favorite place and really, the food is the same…although the slices of orange on that above whole fish plate were painfully thin and dry…

Szechuan Chef (again)

August 30, 2017 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog, written by three friends. Today, Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are unable to write about any meals either has consumed recently and Cathy's got a meal recorded on her camera, ready to share.

It's been *hot* the past few days! When I woke (around 2 a.m.) it was 65 and by 2 p.m., it was 101. {I fall asleep around 7 p.m., if you are concerned}. It was a day to get chores done early and then do nothing when the heat hit. Cooking inside our (non-air conditioned) house was not considered.

So, back we went down Convoy Street. Szechuan Chef is part of our 'rotation', which Kirk first wrote about in 2013 then I wrote about in 2015, posting once more as one of our 'birthday meals' in 2016 and most recently, Kirk wrote about a meal in April.

We try to order one 'new to us' dish as well as one 'familiar' item when we go out and today was no exception. Fish filet with tofu in black bean sauce ($10.99){rice is $1} was very nice, quite a large portion, had some great flavors and textures. Crispy fish, fried tofu and a not too salty black bean sauce with onion. Mild-no heat. Of course, my go to here is the deep fried cumin (not turmeric) fish ($10.99). Red pepper, onion, Chinese celery, garlic, ginger and chile peppers. We are never asked about what spice level we would like and it always is just enough.

Stay cool!

Szechuan Chef 4344 Convoy Street #F San Diego 92111 (858) 279-8881

2018 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road testing. Small snack at Cream Pan-Tustin. Breakfast at BMC Pho-Hacienda Heights.

August 28, 2017 Cathy Bakery, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, this food blog, usually has a story about how a meal or meals occurred. Today, Cathy is writing. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are busy with meetings and appointments and 'check off the list' stuff.

Saturday morning, leaving the driveway at 5 a.m., heading North. After about an hour, getting to the parking lot and stepping inside Cream Pan,

for the first time this year. It's mostly the same,

other than the slight (10¢) price increase for the strawberry croissant… …and the new, secondary check out area. Cream Pan 602 El Camino Real Tustin, CA 92780 Website
We purchased a ham and cheese croissant ($2.60) and a cheese crisp ($2.50) and jumped back on the freeway, heading to Irwindale and the new location of Phoenix Decorating Company, arriving before 7 a.m.. We passed the new Construction/Decorating 'barn' and saw some of the floats which were tested last month.

We noticed only three floats were lined up for testing this morning. "Story Time", the entry from the City of Alhambra features a bookworm reading the book 'Tales from the Alhambra', ladybugs flying, zinnias, leaves and lily of the valley.

The openings in the above photo are where the 'observer' and the 'driver' will be seated when the float is driving down Colorado Boulevard on January 1.

The colors are painted on the floats as a marking for the decorators and also in case of weather (in the event of rain or wind, the float might lose some of its natural decorations and people on the parade route will still see color).

The road test is for both mechanics and maneuverability of the float. Each float has at least three tests, the final test that everyone can get off of and out of the float in 45 seconds or less.
The Lions Club International entry to the parade, "Preserving Our Environment" will have a water feature- flowing around the rotating water wheel. The colors have not been marked yet.The third float tested on Saturday was this one from Trader Joe's- interesting in that there is a long hitch on both the front and the rear, which makes this a part of a multi-piece float.

Now you've seen floats in three stages of testing!

Phoenix Decorating Company 5400 Irwindale Avenue Irwindale, CA 91706 Website

Since this float builder location and part of Los Angeles County is 'new' to us, The Mister and I began to drive South and explore, looking for breakfast places as well as possible places to eat after we decorate floats in December.
Noticing this at the corner of Gale Avenue and Hacienda Boulevard,we stopped.

So much is offered here, but the banh mi menu (to the far right, just behind the cash register) caught my eye. I'm always on the lookout for a good banh mi (nothing in San Diego satisfies me any more since the fire of August 4, 2015, destroying the now almost reopened K Sandwiches). We were very pleasantly surprised. BMC has a 'buy two, get one' deal, so all three sandwiches cost a total of $7.50. We chose the #2, #4 and #6-BBQ pork, shredded chicken and egg. Each was prepared on wonderful, fresh, crispy crusted light bread, a spread of mayonnaise and topped with pickled daikon, carrots, cilantro and fresh slices of jalapeño. We were impressed with the char grilled flavor of the (plentiful amount of) pork and flavorful shredded chicken…oh but the egg… Crispy whites, solid yolks and just a perfect breakfast sandwich.

We will be returning here at some point to try out other menu items.

BMC Pho 1104 S. Hacienda Boulevard Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (626)330-3765 Open daily 7 a.m.-9 p.m.