mmm-yoso – Page 241 – 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.

Ed (from Yuma) in San Diego Part 1– Buga, Village Kitchen, Kokoro, and Boiling Passion

September 12, 2016 ed fromyuma Chinese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Was in San Diego recently so I'm writing about some SD meals today. Kirk or Cathy will write about some meals tomorrow. That's how we roll.

Regular readers of mmm-yoso have already heard about these places, so I will link to other posts and try to keep my comments simple and short.

Buga. Coming into town I got stuck in a traffic jam on I8 near Alpine caused by a burning truck, so when I finally got to town I wanted to go to someplace easy to find with a large parking lot that could dish up something cool and refreshing. I was tired and ravenous when I pulled into Buga. So tired and ravenous that I forgot my camera. The pan chan were fine, the bulgogi meh, and the cold noodle soup really good.

Village Kitchen. The recent opening of a few regional Chinese restaurants in San Diego seems like a good trend. Not sure which one to try, I ended up at Village Kitchen. As a gringo (is there a Chinese equivalent?), I appreciated the order sheet along with the menu that pictured every dish. Made things simpler and reduced chances of mistakes:

Of course I had to have the mashed eggplant, green chili, and century egg:

That mortar and pestle are huge. This was a lot of food. Describing the flavor is almost impossible. But I’ll ty anyway – intense, earthy umami. Love at first bite. Here's a more detailed picture:

The century eggs are the black things. The mashed eggplant just seems to suck up flavors from the mild green chilies and those stinky eggs. Amazing weird good.

I also tried the Chinese pickle, chopped bamboo shoot, and ground pork:

I like all of those ingredients, and the dish had an interesting flavor profile as well. However, it lacked the power of the eggplant mash. And the finely chopped ingredients along with the ground pork were a challenge for my American chopstick skills. I took most of it to go.

Kokoro has become a regular go-to spot for me in San Diego:

The parking lot has plenty of spaces, and the restaurant is not crowded. I really enjoy the low key ambience, the friendly service, and the easy jazz playing in the background. I ordered the very basic sashimi lunch:

The tuna was surprisingly good, and the other three were all decent. As ordinary as this lunch was, Yuma has no place I can count on getting sashimi that I will like, so I was happy. The lunch came with okay miso soup, rice, and these excellent pickles:

Boiling Passion had a totally different ambience. Hip-hop videos were playing on the flat screen TV in the clean well lighted place:

Not only was I the only non-Asian in the restaurant, I was a good 30 years older than anyone else. However, the energetic and friendly server went out of her way to assist me. For example she explained the difference between the three dipping sauces provided – bean paste
garlic soy
and hot chili oil
– and also suggested the proportions to mix together in the small leaf shaped saucer:

Since I had ordered the seafood hotplate with noodles instead of rice, dry cellophane noodles arrived first, and I was told to let them cook for a couple minutes in the hot pot:

Then the hot pot showed up and soon was bubbling and steaming:

Overall I loved it. The broth was rich and flavorful and improved as the items cooked. I was a little surprised by the beef in a seafood hot pot, but the meat added flavor and tasted good. I liked the fish balls and shrimp balls, and I've quit complaining about krab in a reasonably priced meal. The two or three little clams were okay as were the two pieces of squid. Only the shrimp, which had a mushy texture, disappointed. I would certainly return and would love to try some different hot pots.

So far, my trip was going great. The weather was gorgeous (78° at the beach), and I was eating well. I was also looking forward to Wednesday when I would have a simple lunch at Sakura and then dinner with Kirk and Cathy at Prime – but that will have to wait for Part 2.

Balboa International Market- eating inside the store (revisits)

September 11, 2016 Cathy Markets & Grocers, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, checking out mmm-yoso!!! to see what sort of food in what part of town is featured today. Kirk is having a busy time at work and Ed (from Yuma) is having a relaxing time (in Yuma) so Cathy is posting.

Back in December, a dear, long time friend sent a message that she was going to be in town for a day, having a book signing at Mysterious Galaxy, one of a handful of Independent bookstores we have in San Diego County.

Mysterious Galaxy shares the same parking lot with Balboa International Market, which I posted about in 2010 and again, in 2012.

She and I had a good visit after her extended signing time (many San Diegans are fans of her book, which is nominated for a World Fantasy Award). The Mister and I have gone back to this part of town quite a few times this year to have lunch after exploring Mysterious Galaxy.

I'll spare you photos of the store interior; it's about the same as in the prior posts. Fresh breads are available and the Produce prices are particularly good.

Walking though the doors of the market, (if there aren't any grills cooking out in front), then to the left and back corner, you'll find a deli counter with many choices, and a menu over a cash register, where you can place your order.
There is also a stack of paper menus. Order, pay, find a seat at the front of the store (you'll get a number and the plates will be brought to you).

The salad plate with chicken is $8 and enough for a meal or a light bite to share. (Depending on my mood, I'll walk into the store and purchase a beverage while waiting)

The a la carte kabob plate is $4. This is a seasoned ground beef (koobideh) kabob served on top of store baked flatbread, with the onion, grilled tomato and basil; quite enough food.

The vegetarian meza is $9 and includes dolma, fresh made falafel, a slice of Kuku (spinach/egg/spiced pie), eggplant salad, cucumber salad, tzatziki, hummus and pita bread.

Always good, fresh, tasty.

Balboa International Market 5907 Balboa Avenue San Diego 92111 (858) 277-3600 Website

For $1 you can get a cup of tea, which comes with tiny sugar cubes.

Easy Pickled Eggs

September 9, 2016 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

So what to do after pickled celery? Which the Missus loved so much….well, I had to actually go to the market and buy more celery….just to buy celery, something quite rare in our household. So now, the "hearts are for braising", the stalks are for pickling. Then the Missus said the magic words, "can you make some pickled eggs". It seems after all these years, it has come to fruition, I love pickled eggs, I mean, really enjoy them. The Missus, on the other hand hasn't been too keen on them. But now, I was all in. And this recipe turned out well. This time around, I went ahead and bought some pickling spice. The Missus really enjoyed the flavor that clove gave to the pickle….so I'll probably be revising my other pickle recipes soon. You can always add beet juice if you want those nicely colored pickled eggs.

The eggs were delish; and a dozen doesn't go very far in this household.

Pickled Eggs:

1 dozen boiled eggs
4 cups distilled white vinegar
2 Tb Kosher Salt
2 Tb Pickling Spice
1/3 Cup White Sugar
1 Tsp Mustard Seed
1 Small Vidalia Onion – quartered – but not cut all the way through (optional)
2 Chilies (optional – I used some Chili de Arbol from the yard)
2 cloves of garlic (optional)

– Wash and sterilize 2 ball jars
– Combine Vinegar, salt, and sugar is a pot bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
– When cooled add Pickling Spice and mustard seed
– Place 1/2 of optional items into each jar
– Add 6 eggs into each jar
– Top off with pickling liquid and spices
– Seal, cover, and refrigerate . Leave for 2 days before eating.

For some reason, it really went nicely with that nice tomato/mozzarella salad with basil…..some Maldon Sea Salt and a drizzle of Arbequina Olive Oil and it made for a nice light dinner on one of the recent hot days we've had.

Del Pueblo Birrieria – Yuma

September 8, 2016 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!, Yuma

Tomorrow Kirk or Cathy will be posting, but today Ed (from Yuma) is talking about a restaurant he found (in Yuma).

Someone told me that there was a Birrieria on 8th Street. Thinking that it would be easy to find, I didn't ask for – or perhaps remember – any more details. But the place seemed to be hiding. It was a couple months later when I finally spotted it, and then it was closed. But I read a sign on the window that said it was open Friday through Sunday, so the next Friday I showed up:

As you can see, Del Pueblo has no bright signage and it presents an inconspicuous storefront wedged between a smoke shop and a $.99 store across from Food City. Inside, however, there are two large tables and at least eight smaller tables arranged on the sides of the dining area:

The room is clean and brightly painted, and a couple nice decorations make up for the folding chairs:

Love these boots:

The small menus are on the sides of the napkin dispensers:

First visit, I ordered a torta:

It was generously sized, the roll had been nicely grilled, and I wanted to eat it immediately. However, I knew I had to open it up and show you, dear reader, what the insides looked like:

All the basics: avocado slices, crunchy lettuce, tomato chunks, and of course meat. I had been offered the four standard carne options – res, chivo, lengua, or cabeza – and had chosen the beef cheeks:

The meat was tender, rich, and flavorful. I also was impressed the meat had been properly drained before it was loaded onto the sandwich, so the bolillo roll did not become soggy and fall apart, and the sandwich went into my stomach instead of onto my shirt.

So of course Tina and I had to visit Del Pueblo that weekend. And on weekends they serve menudo and birria de chivo. She ordered one and I the other.

First we got our beverages (Mexican Coke), a bottle of the fiery house salsa, and the wheel of condiments:

While we were waiting, I went back and watched the cook prepare corn tortillas:

Taking balls of masa dough from the bowl, she flattened them in the tortilla press, then grilled them on the little flat tops.

The tortillas arrived tasting fresh and warm:

The menudo was rich and mild flavored, filled with tripe and hominy:

Maybe not the best in town, but pretty darned good.

The birria de chivo was outstanding, deeply flavored by the extra savory broth: And packed with tender tasty goat flesh.

A couple of weeks later, I joined Deb W and Lauryn at Del Pueblo for a Friday lunch.

Remembering those homemade tortillas, I ordered tacos, which came with the same wheel of condiments:

The taco de res was filled with a lot of well-drained shredded stew beef:

The cabeza was as rich and meaty as on the torta:

And the lengua had perfect texture and mild flavor:

The girls ordered beef burritos. Our server returned a minute later and explained that they were out of the large burrito sized flour tortillas and asked if it would be okay if the burritos were made with more than one tortilla. "No problem," they said, so the nicely grilled burritos were a little unusual looking:

Having eaten with me and my camera before, Lauryn cut open her burrito so that I could get a picture of its insides. And then she photo bombed the pic:

If you ignore the hungry mouth, you can see the steaming burrito filled with res, frijoles, arroz, and queso. Both Lauren and Deb approved.

I'm glad I finally found Del Pueblo. The menu may be limited, but they are good at what they do. And the prices are cheap. The friendly young server (I think it’s a family operation) tells me that the restaurant will open weekdays once the weather cools down and business heats up.

Del Pueblo Birrieria, 1225 W. 8^th St, Yuma 85364, (928) 750-8678.

The Summer of 2016 Drive Across the USA – Part Two: What We Ate (the chains)

September 7, 2016 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Chains, Detroit, Michigan, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and we (Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy) try to keep things interesting. This post is written by Cathy, who had a more or less interesting Summer of 2016 adventure which included food.

Link To Part One

Link to Part Three

Link to Part Four

Again, it was not a vacation and the drive *to* Michigan was interesting and rushed (the drive back to San Diego was, fortunately, far more vacation-like). Upon arrival, I was looking for familiar foods. However, I needed wi-fi so I wouldn't use up my monthly data on the phone. There were three places (Starbucks, Panera and Culver's) close by which had free wifi. In the three weeks of my stay, I did patronize (not just hang out to get the free wifi) those businesses at least five times each. By far, my favorite was Culver's, "Home of the Butter Burger" Fresh, never frozen, Midwest-raised beef, seared on the grill after you order served on a lightly buttered, toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayonnaise. This is a "Deluxe Double" ($4.79).
Following several Butter Burger meals, I opted for the Pork Tenderloin Sandwich ($4.89). You might notice the sides of cheese curds (this time, Wisconsin cheese).
A 'Wisconsin Swiss Melt" ($3.69, double $5.29)) -grilled onions on a wonderful (cheesy) grilled rye bread was also one meal choice. Culver's is also know for its fresh, frozen custard. Made from real Wisconsin dairy sourced from local farms and prepared fresh throughout the day. There's always chocolate and vanilla available, but also a unique Flavor of the Day. You can have a shake, malt or float made with the custard. There was also something called a 'concrete mixer' on the menu. Big Boy still has locations in Michigan.

For the most part, I enjoyed the traditional "Big Boy" Hamburger (two 1/8 lb patties, double cheese, lettuce, pickles, Thousand Island dressing on a toasted sesame seeded bun, with a toasted plain center bun) while having the occasional "Brawny Lad" (1/4 lb meat, a whole slice of raw onion, pat of butter on a toasted rye bun) with a salad topped with the (less famous) garlic oil salad dressing.
Another 'local' chain is White Castle Not much explanation needed; White Castle is where the 'slider' originated. Small, thin, steamed (there are five holes punched in that piece of meat) and topped with one pickle and a scoop of grilled onion, the taste is unique and so very familiar. As a side note, these are now 79¢ each and I remember when they were 14¢ each (because I am old).

In addition to burgers, there was pizza. Jets Pizza first opened in 1978 in a nearby Detroit suburb and is available in either square or round, cooked with a layer of oil on the bottom, for a nice 'crunch'.
Little Caesars began in 1959 in Detroit. It is a franchise concept and undoubtedly you have seen "Hot N Ready" advertising around here, indicating that you can just walk in and pick up a hot, fresh pizza topped with pepperoni for around $5. In the Detroit area, there are six types of 'Hot N Ready' pies as well as a few other "HnR" sides, which you can pick up via drive-thru (quite convenient on snowy days), or you can walk inside and order a personalized pie and even more. Again, the pizza has that crunchy, oily bottom crust, which I've been told is 'Detroit Style'. {As a side note, Domino's was also founded in Detroit in 1960 as a competitor to Little Caesars and doesn't really have that oily, crunchy bottom crust to their pies}. The downside to using the drive thru for a 'Hot n Ready' is that it is handed to you through the window and you have to place it on the seat next to you…and that surface is not flat.

One other local/chain restaurant/snack stop where we spent some time was Tim Horton's, a Canadian based fast food restaurant (you might notice this location used to be a McDonald's-see the trash cans on the outside of the building?) "Timmy's" is primarily known for its coffee and donuts, although soups, sandwiches and ice cream is also on the menu. We did go to Starbucks for coffee and wifi, but were at Timmy's for a fresh donut quite a few times…

Other meals were made at home after shopping at the local Grocer, Meijer -fondly remembered as "Meijer Thrifty Acres". Michigan based with regional stores, in 1934, it was one of very few supermarket chains that offered shopping carts and the concept of 'self service', then in 1962 it pioneered the concept of a 'Superstore'-everything under one roof. Meijer sells not only groceries, but electronics, clothing, household goods, has a fuel station with an attached Convenience Store. I was here for ham and hard salami and bread: Krakus Polish ham, Kowalski brand salami: many sandwiches were consumed.

Once things settled down, there was time to go out to a few non-chain restaurants and have those foods. That's another post. Thanks for reading!

Revisits – Tim Ky Noodle and Que Huong

September 6, 2016 mmm-yoso Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple more "Honey Doo" weekend breakfast revisits.

Tim Ky Noodle:

Actually, I hadn't planned on checking out Tim Ky. I'd been craving the Banh Mi Bo Kho from Pho Lucky and since 99 Ranch Market was out of the brand of Shaoxing I prefer, I headed up the 15 to Lucky Seafood. The plan was to get the bo kho from Lucky, then buy what I needed next door. Unfortunately, I was met with the "unlucky" sign to my right. Hmmm……hope they truly are just "remodeling". So I walked on over to Tim Ky and got the Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup. First off, the guy working here seems to have kind of burned out and has entered the "just give me your order phase"…..which was fine….maybe he's not a morning person.

As for the soup….I totally take back my comparison of Tim Ky to Minh Ky.

While the noodles were spot on perfect; everything else was back to how it was on a previous visit. Man, that soup was bland, the dumplings and won tons tough….if you're keeping score; there's now a total of five, down from six on previous visits.

Maybe this soup isn't a "morning kind of broth"?

At least I got my Shaoxing….which kept this from being a totally "un-Lucky" morning.

Tim Ky Noodle
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Que Huong:

**** Que Huong has closed

**** QH Rev 01

I was driving around on errands rather late this past long weekend. I was kind of hungry and noticed that Que Huong was open. Man, it had been over a year since I last visited. I walked toward the door and Jay came up and opened it for me! I guess the place opens at 10am on weekends. I didn't know that!

The other thing I didn't know was that they served a whole bunch of different noodle soups these days.

Though I recalled that the Missus kind of enjoyed the Bun Rieu here a couple of years back.

I ordered the Canh Bun. Jay told me they were out of fried tofu and I told him to not include the pork blood. I was surprised at what I got for $6.95.

Man, look at all that ong choi….which was fresh and crisp. Qutie a bit of the pork/crab floating around as well. Maybe they gave me a lot more since they didn't have any fried tofu? The noodles were nicely done, firm and slippery. What surprised me the most was the broth…..it wasn't overly MSG heavy, with a pleasant mild flavor. I do think it could have been a bit richer but the mam tom (fermented shrimp paste) really went well with this; adding a nice complex savory flavor to the broth.

I mentioned the quiet unsalty flavor of the broth to Jay who told me that they had really cut back on the MSG and salt these days……which makes it quite the opposite from how things have trended here in San Diego over the last few years. Jay told me that he has become a bit sensitive to MSG which lead to this change….interesting.

It's been way to long between visits. Maybe I need to drop by and try the Bun Mam here. Though I might pass on the pho….. Jay also told me that he's adding a whole range of "salad type" dishes and revamping the menu a bit. More reason to return I guess.

Que Huong Restaurant
4134 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Clearing Out the Memory Card – All those familiar places; Taisho, Okan, Sakura, and Iron Pig

September 5, 2016 mmm-yoso Gastropub, Japanese Restaurants

Here's something for a lazy Labor Day. I hope you all had a nice, relaxing long weekend.

Yakitori Taisho:

Still a favorite of mine. I recently had the pleasure of dining here with with Kirbie and her Hubby, it had been too darn long. I think we spent most of the time catching up….so I know I got no photos. And after all, I do have quite the collection, of posts on the place. In fact, the last time we travelled to Japan, it was to be about mostly Ramen and Yakitori for the Missus. And in spite of trying half a dozen places…..well….Taisho would have been a solid number 3. That says a lot. My only recent complaint about the place…….well, they've taken chicken karaage off the menu!

Not much new here……then having tried the quail, which was quite good.

Try it if they have it on the menu.

It's great to see that other Food Bloggers like Jinxi are enjoying Taisho and trying new things like akahimo.

Yakitori Taisho
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Wa Dining Okan:

Met up with some friends; Eric and Maria. And while I managed to miss a couple of dishes….this was a nice meal as always.

Man, Okan has sure come a long way since they opened. And it was nice to share a meal with new friends.

Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Sakura:

On the other end of the spectrum. My last visit to Sakura left something to be desired. The Ebi Kakiage Udon was good as always….but the older woman who works here was just plain rude.

She's always been a bit perfunctory; but this time very short and rather rude, to all the customers. Everyone has a bad day; but when you're in the service industry, you need to minimize those. We'll see what happens the next time…..I think it'll be a while…I visit.

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Iron Pig Alehouse:

**** Iron Pig has closed

The Missus said I needed to up my veggie intake; so it was off to Iron Pig for the "Man Salad".

This time around; the rib tips were really dry and stringy; but those smoked wings were good as always.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Sunday Stuffs – Another Up 2 You Cafe Opening and Keil’s Becoming Sprouts on Clairemont Drive

September 4, 2016 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers

It's a beautiful long weekend. Here's a couple of things I've noticed over the last few days.

Another Up 2 You Café opening on Convoy:

In the location that used to house several versions of a "Berto" (I think it was Rolando's last) Taco Shop on Convoy.

Noticed the public notice a few days ago. Looks like it's going to be yet another location of Up2You cafes. Which Kirbie, CC, Jinxi, and our own Cathy have posted on. Looks like this one will be a bit different as they will serve alcohol.

4403 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Keils in Bay Park Becoming Sprouts:

Listing this one since it's basically right up the block.

After something like 3 decades, Keils is going to become a location of Sprouts…..I was told sometime in 2017. I really don't shop here often; but I realize that Keils has been a fixture in the neighborhood and folks know the staff here. Kind of sad in a way…..

3015 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

A Day Trip to St Emilion and Dinner at Saveurs D’Aquitaine

September 3, 2016 mmm-yoso Beer, Bordeaux, Fine Dining, France, Travel

After a relatively relaxing day in Bordeaux, the Missus decided that we should take at least one day trip. I thought a nice 40 minute train ride into the village of St Emilion, which, in addition to claiming to being the oldest wine producing area in Bordeaux (dating back to Roman times), the village is a World Heritage Site.

Getting off the train, you immediately know what the cash crop here is……

You are engulfed by grape vines……

The walk to the village from the train station was about 15 minutes.

We had decided to arrive fairly early and the streets were sedate, it was quite charming. There were basically no one on the sometimes narrow street as we wound our way up the hill. I guess it wasn't quite "wine o'clock" yet.

There are two distinctive landmarks in the village. The first is the Chateau du Roi, which is located on the hill west of the center of St Emilion.

According to what I read, this used to be the King's Castle and dates back to the 13th century. You can buy tickets to climb to the top, but since it was early the place wasn't open yet.

From here, you can view the rooftops of most of the village and get a nice glimpse of the other major landmark of St Emilion; the Eglise Monolithe, Saint Emilion Monolithic Church.

We were even more impressed after taking a tour….more on that in a bit.

We headed back down into the lower part of the village, then back up the narrow streets until we arrived at Place des Creaneux. This is where the TI office is located. They had just opened. We asked for maps and some other recommendations. As with our other experience at the TI in Sarlat, the young lady here was amazing; such a joy to deal with. She asked us if we'd "like to see a very interesting part of St Emilion that is not open to the public?" And we said, "of course"…..so she booked us for "Underground St Emilion"…the first tour, which started at 1030.

This meant that we had about forty minutes of so to kill, so we wondered around a bit. Around the corner from the TI is the Eglise Collégiale, the Collegiate Church. The Romanesque styling means this church has been around for quite a while.

The cloisters, built in the Gothic style is what this church is known for.

It was quite amazing to have a place like this all to ourselves.

It was getting close to the time of our scheduled tour. So we needed to get to that plaza below us. The way down was rather steep and we passed through a gateway; the Porte de la Cadene. There was a very rustic (and old) wooden structure next to the gate, I was told that the name of the gate is derived from "catena", which meant chain. Apparently, there was once a chain which controlled access to the main square of the town at this gate.

There a quite a few questions about the existence of this gate and structure; since it was within the village, why was there a "chain/gate" here? Who was being defended and/or protected? Who doesn't love a little mystery?

We were told to wait for our tour in front of the "three windows".

The tour itself was quite good. We got to learn a bit about the history of St Emilion, which is named after a monk, named, well Emilion, of the Breton Priory, who fled to this area to escape persecution from the Benedictine Order. He settled in a cave, dug out of the hillside that is now St Emilion. During the 45 minute tour, we visited what was (supposedly) his bed, carved out of bedrock, visited catacombs, and we saw paintings within the Trinity Chapel, done in the 13th century. The most impressive thing to us was seeing the amazing "church" carved out of the stone. There were huge devices which looked like they were used to stabilize the ceiling. It was quite amazing….as this all started as a cave carved out by a single monk. What was more surprising….is that we exited by a door near those three very windows where we first gathered. Who knew what lay behind them!

Even though our tour was in French, the young lady also spoke English so we really got a lot out of our time. Highly recommended!

It was still fairly early, so we decided to head back to Bordeaux. And while the train was rather late….there was an interesting conversation I had with a nice gentleman who told me that the "French are very detailed oriented, like the Japanese"….after which I told him, "however, if the trains ran as late in Japan….you know, heads would have rolled….", which got a nice laugh.

Getting back to Bordeaux, we caught the tram and got off near Cours de l’Intendance.

It was for me to "payer le prix promis"…..to go ahead and "pay the promised price" to the Missus. I had told Her that She could get whatever scarf She wanted from Hermes whenever we visited France (this, BTW has changed and gotten a bit more pricy). and so, the Missus got the scarf of Her choice….after all, love is priceless, no?

We had decided to finish up the eggs and cheese we had purchased the day before for lunch. But, we had seen some interesting beer in St Emilion….I know, we went to one of the great wine producing areas of France and bought some beer……which isn't even from the area. But the Missus still had another bottle of Her Chateau de Grand Moulin, so why not try these?

The Biere de Ferme Truffle was kind of weird….it had an strange off taste, little foam, kind of weak……fragrance of truffle, but the flavor is very difficult to describe.

The Ambree, on the other hand was very good…nutty and on the sweet (very Belgian) in flavor, I found it to be quite pleasant to drink.

We had a nice short nap, then it was off to dinner. The destination was close by. I'd read about a shop called Saveurs D' Aquitaine, which specialized in small dishes of local ingredients….the highlight being truffle. Since it was just a few blocks from where we were staying, we stopped by before leaving for the Dordogne and made dinner reservations for our last night in Bordeaux. So this was to be our last meal in Bordeaux. On the way to the restaurant, we ran into a woman who was lost, and insisted on me trying to help her….really! It was like some scene from a reality show…..me….trying to help some poor French woman…who kept speaking to me in French. Finally, she got the clue, and started cracking up at the strangeness of the situation.

When we arrived at the restaurant, it was strangely closed. Soon after, a young lady arrived and opened the doors. So here's what happened; the young lady who took our reservations, didn't know that the chef was booked for another event on the day we requested. The folks at the restaurant tried to get in touch with us….but hey, we didn't have pocket wifi this time around and where we were staying didn't give out customer info…appropriately so.

They could have easily closed us out…..but instead, we had a small private dinner for two….albeit, simplified and prepped ahead of time, by a very, very, nice young lady….I could not get a grasp of her name….so she said to call her "Vic"!

And so, while there were quite a bit of truffles present for dinner…..it didn't quite raise our sails….this was a very special meal….

The restaurant could have easily locked us out….it would have been totally acceptable. But instead, they went ahead and prepped us our own little special dinner. Which if not amazing, was still quite special. '"Vic" made the meal, as we got to talk about how life is in Bordeaux, and life in general……she was the highlight……and I'm hoping she is doing well in Bogota, which is where I understood she was headed after graduation.

In a way, this might have been our best meal in Bordeaux. Perhaps one day we'll return and actually have proper meal here.

Saveurs D' Aquitaine
16 Place des Quinconces
Bordeaux, France

As we took our final walk around the city….this joyfully unpretentious locale….I wondered, as I stared at the mesmerizing "head" by Jaume Plensa…..

What will I do the next time I'm here……

Back to Bordeaux – Returning to Bar a Vin, Fromage from Fromagerie Beillevaire, and a Little Self Catering

September 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Bordeaux, Cheese, France, Markets & Grocers, Travel, Wine Bars/Wineries

We'd had a great time in Dordogne, but were pretty tired and were happy to be back in Bordeaux. It all seemed familiar to us….we knew the drill, how to catch tram from the Gare Saint Jean. In fact, shades of Saint Jean de Luz, seeing us use the tram ticket machine…folks would ask us….in French how to us the quite easy ticket machine. It was so strange. If there was one person who really didn't look like they belonged, it would be me. Anyway, we ended up helping a couple of folks get their tickets….. We were staying at the same apartments, so getting settled in was a snap. As was getting back to our favorite little place in Bordeaux, Bar a Vin.

We got a simple cheese plate and a glass of wine each.

This was our third visit here, we just really enjoyed the place.

I had a glass of the 2008 Saint-Julien Chateau Langoa-Barton, Grand Cru……

It was lovely, rich, berry flavors, with not too much tannin…..

Bar a Vin
3 Cours du 30 Juillet
Bordeaux, France

The Missus then decided that it was time for a walk, so this time we headed up along the Garonne River, passing some interesting sites on the way…..

The Chartrons neighborhood was once filled with the homes of rich merchants, but eventually fell into disrepair. A large renovation project has turned the Quay des Chatrons into a hip and gentrified neighborhood…..

And further north is Bassin a Flot, once lined with warehouses, dry docks, and other industrial businesses, the place turned into a wonderful urban renovation project….now lined with bars, restaurants, and hip shops.

It was time to decide what to do for dinner. The decision was quite easy. Our favorite meal in Bordeaux was having some cheese and baguette, with a bottle (or two of wine), and just relaxing.

We turned around and headed back to Marche des Grands Hommes and the Carrefour Market.

We picked up some wine and other items and headed out.

On the street on the other side of Marche des Grands Hommes, that lead to Allee de Tourny was a cheese shop that I wanted to check out named Fromagerie Beillevaire.

The guy working here was quite nice and the selection was nice.

It was hard picking just 2-3 cheeses….but in the end we basically just chose three.

Fromagerie Beillevaire
8 Rue Michel Montaigne
Bordeaux, France

Looking back, I noticed we'd done quite a bit of walking on this day. No wonder we were pretty tired when we got back to the apartment. This time around, they put us in a huge 2 bedroom unit on the third floor, which was very comfortable.