mmm-yoso – Page 278 – 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.

Ghent: The Sunday Flower Market, Brasserie Savarin, and Dulle Griet (yet again)

August 7, 2015 mmm-yoso Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Cheese, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

We awoke to a serene Sunday morning in Ghent. After a nice cup of coffee we headed off for a nice morning walk through the formerly run down, but now gentrified neighborhood of Patershol, past where we got off the tram the previous day near Gravensteen Castle.

We crossed back over near Groentenmarkt. That's the back of the Meat Market which I described in my earlier post to the left. Things seemed so still and peaceful.

We just kind of wandered around following the few folks out walking in the morning…..

We crossed over St Michael's Bridge.

And found a small Sunday Market in the square in front of St Michael's Church.

For some reason we were lucky enough to run into a flower market in Kouter Square.

It was a charming market….full of bright flowers.

And smiling folks, just taking in the flowers, the sunshine, having a nice morning coffee from one of the stands (there's even one serving oysters and champagne!). It's these little happy mistakes that makes travelling so wonderful.

We soon saw a band warming up in the bandstand.

So we did the local thing; we had a seat on one of the benches and listened to the band.

Apparently, the Sunday Flower Market has been going on since the 18th century!

We soon saw a family of five looking for some seats; so we waved them over and took our leave.

While listening to the music, I had gotten an idea. Why not just stay in for dinner? So we headed back to the little market in front of St Michael's Church to do a bit of shopping. The riverfront was starting to awaken on this sleepy Sunday morning…..

We made a few purchases and then headed back to the apartment; taking the long way, joining all the folks enjoying the river front.

We did see one guy who had taken a pretty bad fall from a bicycle, but he looked ok, so we kept on going. Arriving back at the apartment, we took a nice little break, more coffee, a shower to freshen up…then the decision of what's for lunch….a rather early lunch (11 am). I decided that we should head down the two blocks or so to Vrijdagmarkt and see what was open.

There was a rather nice looking place; white tablecloths and all, named Brasserie Savarin that was open for service.

Since this WAS Belgium…anytime is a good time for a beer…..

The Missus had a Tongerlo Blonde; sweet, quite foamy, fairly non-descript.

I ordered the Ommegang Keizer Karel Charles Quint – A Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Mild hops, a bit different from what I had gotten used to, a bit "clovey"….quite a bit of head.

I ordered the "Gentse Stoverij"…which turned out to be Carbonnade Flamande…. which I'd had a couple of times so far.

I had read that in Ghent they use thyme and the different beer creates a different flavor….not sure; this one was pretty much what I'd had before, honestly, not quite as good. The beef was on the drier side and the "gravy" not as strikingly flavorful.

The frites were just ok……I was still searching for some great frites in Belgium.

I did enjoy the salad though.

The Missus? Well She had Waterzooi of course!

While the presentation looked much more refined; She preferred what She had at t'Vosken the day before.

Service was ok….folks seemed to be in Sunday mode and I don't really blame them on such a beautiful day.

Brasserie Savarin
Vrijdagsmarkt 17
Ghent, Belgium

Leaving, we stared across Vrijdagsmarkt……

And of course we headed straight back to Dulle Griet.

Things were much quieter at this time for the day…….

Which gave me a chance to take a good look around……

The Missus got a really nice Geuze from Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen. Floral with citrus tones; with a nice funk, fairly light and very pleasant.

I got the house blonde, light, pleasant, and easy to drink.

Dulle Griet
Vrijdagmarkt 50
Ghent, Belgium

We then took a leisurely post lunch siesta……a very under-rated and appreciated event.

Before dinner, we got back out and took a walk.

The one place I do regret not visiting in Ghent was St Bavo's Cathedral; it was under going some restoration when we were in town. I understand the artwork and altarpiece are quite stunning. But I mostly wanted to go to see the statue of someone near and dear those who know a bit about the history of Hawaii; Pater Damiaan; more commonly known as Father Damien who was born in Belgium. I'll make sure to visit next time.

Dinner was simple affair…….chicken wings and some cheese.

We'd end up buying cheese and carrying it with us for the rest of the trip.

Taking our post dinner walk we found that even on a Sunday night the Groentenmarkt was a happening place.

We really enjoyed Ghent and would miss this town. We stood and just soaked in the sounds and sights before heading back.

As we got back to Vrijdagsmarkt we were suddenly possessed and had to make a right turn back into Dulle Griet! For one last beer; the missus had Her Duchesse De Bourgogne and I a Leffe Royale. A nice end to our stay in Ghent.

The next morning we would be off, taking two different trains, in search of what some consider to be the most coveted and best beer in the world……

Stay Tuned!

Ranchwood BBQ and Catering (La Mesa)

August 6, 2015 Cathy BBQ, What Cathy Eats!

You are here: mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk has been working a bit more than usual and Ed (from Yuma) has been enjoying life. Cathy is writing this short post.

It's still unusually humid and hot; neither The Mister nor I want to cook. The other day we stayed close to home, driving on side streets until we got into La Mesa just looking for a small, quick bite. We didn't even use 'air conditioned comfort' as a criterion.

The old brick and mortar location of Pubcakes closed at the end of last year and Ranchwood BBQ took its place. Ranchwood had only been a catering business for years and this location is now the storefront as well as catering. We parked on El Cajon Boulevard and walked in.

(FYI, Pubcakes exists in a way; they sell craft beer cake mix, (you can make cupcakes at home using beer as the liquid). The mix is sold at specialty markets around town, including Seisels and Iowa Meat Farms {Pubcakes website}.The small storefront holds two picnic benches inside and some small tables out front. There are several bar stools strewn around. A lot of the orders are 'to go'.

That is the entire menu above the counter in that second photo. The meat is smoked here, behind the building. We were here one day just after opening (11 a.m.; closed on Monday) and all of the menu was available. Deciding we were going to share and being unable to agree on what, we chose the Cowboy Plate ($13.99). Two meats and two sides…and two slices of white bread.The sides we always choose seem to be cole slaw and baked beans. The slaw was good: fresh, crispy, cool and just creamy enough…no real spices added.

The beans…ah the root beer baked beans. Tasty and different. Two types of beans, onion, celery and maybe some bell pepper… and a creamy slightly tangy sauce which had a faint undertone of the sassafras, vanilla and other flavors of a good root beer. These were different and tasty beans. As you can see, these sides were quite large.

There are other sides we could've chosen: fries, rings, mashed potato, veggies, regular and a chipotle potato salad and house made chips.

Our two meats? Brisket (we would rather have fatty Brisket than lean Tri-Tip) and Pulled Pork. Yes, that portion is large; it weighed more than a pound.

Both meats were cooked low and slow, so the meat was very tender. The beef was lightly covered with a mustard based sauce and the whole portion (pork and beef) with the BBQ sauce.

I was happy trying pieces of meat without any sauce, and got only a light smoke flavor from the pork. The sauce was complimentary to the meats, yet not needed.

We will be returning to this locally owned business to try out other meats and menu items.

Ranchwood BBQ and Catering 7229 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92115 Website Closed Monday open Sun, Tues-Thurs 11-8:30, Fri-Sat 11-9

Trying to beat the heat. Revisits to RakiRaki and Pho Ha Noi

August 5, 2015 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Don't want to bring too much attention to it….just in case you hadn't noticed. But man, it's still some kind of humid isn't it? On the good side. Well, I've been getting a nice amount of recommendations recently. Here are two of them.

あまりにも多くの誇大宣伝の家 aka RakiRaki:

That would be "Amarini mo ōku no kodai senden no ie". You can kind of figure out what I'm referring to based on my previous posts. It just seems at times that RR's biggest fan is themselves. On a good note, I think the product, while still far from great has been getting better over the last couple of years. And I received an email by "one who wants to remain anonymous" with two rec's. The first telling me that the Rikimaru Miso Tonkotsu Tsukemen was the way to go. So it's the way I went.

First, some housekeeping items…I ordered my noodles cold, but I guess the kitchen didn't get the memo and over-cooked them instead. Maybe to teach me a lesson for being a pain and ordering them cold? That egg was tragically over cooked, dry, and quite bland to boot.

I usually avoid miso based ramen broth because it's either much too salty, or all you end up tasting is the miso base. In this case it worked out quite well. Not too salty, faint miso flavor, the broth's almost citrus like "bite" tempered a bit. Decent amount of pork in the soup. This might be the way to go for me in the future…… In spite of the $13 price tag.

I heard through the grapevine that RR had purchased the lease to the A Cafe space, so it will be interesting to see what happens here.

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Ha Noi:

There was a second recommendation in the email. I was informed that the best item on the menu at Pho Ha Noi was not the Pho, but something called Spicy Beef Salad, which just sounded right on one sweaty day.

Pho might not be the way to go here; but it sure didn't seem that way since the other three folks in the place were all getting pho.

The young man serving me was very nice and friendly. He also asked me twice if I could eat "spicy" when I ordered the spicy beef salad.

This is an interesting riff utilizing the typical stir fry beef which has been flavored with soy and fish sauce; a little sweet of course, but a bit under flavored for me. It was adequately tender and there was a fairly generous portion of protein. The "salad" is basically cabbage (aka coleslaw) mix with some, a bit too little slices of herbs mixed in. The "spicy" wasn't very spicy at all, basically a watered down nuoc mam cham with chili paste mixed in.

As a pseudo fast food dish, this wasn't bad. And I got my veggies……. Still, I'm not sure I'd have this again.

Pho Ha Noi
6904 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121

Our "FOY" (Friend of Yoso) really wanted my opinion on these two items. So there you go! Thanks so much for taking the time out to email me!

Tasty Pizza (no pizza) (inside Parkway Plaza Mall)

August 4, 2015 Cathy Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Here you are, once again checking out mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) both don't feel like writing today, but Cathy does, so here's another post about food.

The weather out here has been quite humid the past few weeks, even with the thermometer topping at 84•, it feels miserable. The Mister and I have tried driving to the coast and have ended up inside grocery stores with air conditioning, just to feel cooler. Fortunately Parkway Plaza, the first indoor shopping center in San Diego County, is close to home.

I must admit that it's been years since we really stopped here for anything other than shopping for tools, appliances or parts at the Sears store, so when we walked the mall, it was all 'new' to us. However the Food Court had quite a few of the same old chains…until we took a closer look.This used to be a Sbarro, where I could pick up a stromboli or calzone or pizza slice when the urge hit, so pizza ovens were in place here…but thenclosely reading the menu, showed us so much more than pizza is on the menu here.The bowl of lentil soup ($3) is excellent and quite filling. It was nice to eat something warm in the chilled air conditioned food court. Ordering the 'Spinach Pie' ($2.50) was a nice surprise. Not a spanakopita other than being filled with fresh spinach, the home made bread was stuffed with a refreshing mix of spinach, lemon and spices. The bread was a fresh, hearty and chewy type; the way I like bread to be.The tabbouleh salad ($3). Oh my, this was so fresh and bright. Parsley, bulgur, olive oil and lemon juice.Manakeesh, an arabic flatbread (this is a different dough than used for the $5 pizzas here; see the edges?) is $5. The top photo is cheese topped, the above photo is topped with za'atar (a blend of sesame seeds, thyme and sumac)and olive oil. Both of these flatbreads were excellent in their own way (and purchased on different visits; one is enough to share).Most of the time, we order a hot tea ($2) it's a teabag in a standard cardboard cup and a standard tea I've seen sold at local small markets but one day, I decided we should try a Turkish coffee here. It's $3 and quite a presentation.

So much nicer than we could ever expect. You just never know what you'll find in a mall.

Tasty Pizza 414 Parkway Plaza El Cajon 92020 (619)401-4400

So, a guy walks into a bar and asks, whose Al Pastor is better, JV’s Mexican Food or Lalo’s?

August 3, 2015 mmm-yoso Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

You've heard those arguments, right? You stop in a bar for a beer and two knuckleheads gentlemen at the bar are doing the "who is better" thing……Ryan or Koufax, Montana or Elway, Kikaida or Kamen Rider? Kikaida or Kamen Rider??? Believe it or not….two guys at my favorite watering hole "back home" almost came to blows over that one! So there I was, listening to these two guys go at each other over Al Pastor….interesting! It became a lot less interesting after I found out that they were comparing JV's and Lalo's. No offense, but there's a lot better to be had here. Still, it made for some fine entertainment and it had been a while since I'd been to either place, 8 years since JV's and a whopping 9 1/2 years since Lalo's. So why not? I started with…..

JV's Mexican Food:

I'd say this place is timeless. As in the sign has kind of faded and the prices have gone up, but the place looks basically the same as I recalled.

I've always had friendly service here and on this visit it was the same. What was different was that they have "street tacos".

Three Al Pastor Tacos go for a wallet friendly $4.50.

As before, the Al Pastor lacks that trompo crusted texture and is less sweet than I prefer….actually, it's a bit on the bland side. The tortillas are typical, not terrible, but nothing special. The salsas are decent and this all works together adequately. It's not terrible, JV's will never be the first that comes to mind, when it comes to Al Pastor…..but it's decent rather cheap easts.

JV's Mexican Food
1112 Morena Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

Lalo's Tacos Al Pastor, Etc:

**** After many years Lalo's has closed

It literally feels like a lifetime since I've been here.

I think the guy here was having a bit of a bad day….he couldn't wait to get rid of me….

The same $4.50 got me this – two small Al Pastor tacos.

Liked the guacamole, the tortillas weren't very good. The al pastor lacked color and the texture was on the mushy side and quite bland. The salsas here are pretty good, the picante is truly spicy. Yet I can't help thinking that time hasn't been real friendly to Lalo's.

Lalo’s Tacos Etc
1266 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

In the end, I really can't recommend either location for Al Pastor; though perhaps JV's might be a ahead.

So what about that Kikaida versus Kamen Rider argument? I guess in this case it would be Rainbowman. So how's that for a nostalgic walk back to "small kid time"?

Yonaka – Modern Japanese in Vegas

August 2, 2015 ed fromyuma Japanese Restaurants, Las Vegas, Sushi and Sashimi, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; today, however, Ed (from Yuma) will tell about a dinner that happened there anyway. Tomorrow, Kirk or Cathy will be sharing food with you.

In a previous life, when I lived in Monterey, California, Corey and I worked in the same shop. He now lives in Las Vegas, so when Tina and I were in town, we all had to get together. I remembered that sushi was one of Corey's favorite foods, so it seemed appropriate to meet up at Yonaka, a modern Japanese restaurant:
Not wanting to spend a lot of time going over the menu, we ordered an omakase – our server recommended the 11 course chef’s special tasting menu which he said would include a range of dishes and be enough to satisfy three hungry appetites. Corey had beer, Tina wine, and me sake.

The first course to arrive was Scottish salmon: The chunks of fish were accompanied by pieces of Asian pear and baby heirloom tomatoes, all topped with a sesame/ginger dressing. While this picture isn't much good, we all agreed that this was a pretty good beginning course. The pear and tomato balanced the salmon well.

Then a large bowl of charred brussels sprouts arrived, smoky, chewy, crispy and crunchy, with a light chili lemon touch: This was a tasty vegetable dish that we continued to munch on between other courses until the bowl was empty.

The next item was some decent hamachi with unusual accompaniment: Between each slice of hamachi, there was a slice of Gala apple, all covered by a Granny Smith apple relish and accompanied by a deep-fried latticework composed of dried apples. Hamachi with apples done three ways? Again there was a light dressing accompaniment. While each item was okay, my palate did not find hamachi/apple interplay especially interesting. Your palate might well be different.

A generous plate of tuna belly accompanied by walnuts and cranberry jelly arrived next: This was an attractive dish, the fish slices topped with micro greens and seaweed strips. The tuna belly itself was good, but not outstanding.

On the other hand, the sashimi plate was excellent: The maguro had an almost suspicious deep red color, but it was flavorful with a good texture. The flying fish sashimi was firm, a bit chewy, and mild. For me, the highlight was the golden thread sea bream – rich and fresh tasting, leading to a long creamy finish.

Also quite tasty was the moist cooked salmon accompanied by baby bok choy and sliced peppers, all bathed in a spicy coconut cream. Yep, this worked: The sea bream bones, deep-fried, showed up next, but they were a little too sturdy and thick for me, not nearly as pleasantly crunchy as a Spanish mackerel skeleton: Maine lobster and braised fennel in a spicy sauce: The idea of this dish was excellent; we liked the interplay of the fennel, sauce, and lobster. The lobster itself, however, was a little overcooked. Still it was okay.

Tender and flavorful wagyu beef, cooked rare, accented by a fruit salsa: We also enjoyed the roasted carrots that seemed to be standing guard over the plate.

The apogee of the meal had to be this: Perfectly prepared pork belly. Incredibly rich, fork tender, slightly sweet, and pleasantly porky. Yum. I salivate just thinking about it. That's apple kimchi in the background.

The final savory course was fried rice with broiled hamachi, uni, ikura, and baby bok choy: While I enjoyed the seafoods and vegetable, the rice seemed pretty ho-hum – something to fill up anyone still hungry at this point, and that was not me. Of course, the pork belly was a tough (tender?) act to follow.

The desert, on the other hand, was surprisingly good: Mango two ways – gelato on the left and panna cotta on the right. I believe the panna cotta was covered in a vanilla sauce, but the best touch was the panna cotta itself, stuffed with a mango center, so when you cut into it and opened it up, the yellow filling flowed out like an over easy egg yolk. Sadly, I was so amazed that I forgot to take a picture of it. Nonetheless, we all thought the desert was a nice finish.

It was great seeing Corey again, and all three of us enjoyed the meal. The extensive use of fruits throughout made our experience unique, and we all left full and happy.

Yonaka Modern Japanese, 4983 W Flamingo Rd, Suite A, Las Vegas, NV 89103, 702-685-8358

Ghent Day 1: ‘t Vosken and Dulle Griet

August 1, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

Having put away a couple of beers, we thought it would be a good time to grab a bite to eat. We headed back up to St Bavo's Square. Right next to the Dutch Theatre is a brasserie that was recommended to me for typical Ghent style Flemish food named 't Vosken. The place was pretty crowded; though most of it were tourists having beer on the patio.

The menu did indeed have some dishes we were interested in.

I started with a Palm Royale; fairly sweet, apple/pear thing going….not too boozy, pretty light and easy to drink.

I ordered the House Rabbit; which came which was a nice braised rabbit. The sauce was obviously beer based and it reminded me of carbonnade.

The rabbit was decently tender and the dish came with frites (not very good) and apple sauce which went well with the rabbit.

The Missus chose Ghent's signature dish, which originated in this city; Waterzooi. 't Vosken only serves the chicken version. The dish really looks strikingly different from other Belgian type braised and stewed dishes we'd had so far.

The color comes from the combination of egg yolk and cream used to add texture to this broth…..it was originally a very simple stew, I was told that "waterzooi" basically means to "boil in water". The Missus really enjoyed this.

We finished up with a Rodenbach Grand Cru…..a favorite of mine with nice stone fruit flavors that we love in Flanders Reds. The Missus loves Her Flanders Reds….

‘t Vosken
Sint-Baafsplein 19
Ghent, Belgium

Lunch was fairly heavy so we walked back to apartment.

There was quite the shindig going on at the Groentenmarkt and band playing, folks having drinks….notice the singer in the band is using a "cheat "sheet"!

One of the vendors had this beautiful looking dog……

When I bent over to pet her, she turned over submissively…..so she got a nice belly rub….

After our nap, we headed back out. We'd be eating in that evening, but decided to take a pre and post dinner walk. By this time the day trippers seemed headed back to Brussels or Bruges……

After returning and having our dinner….cheese, bread, and some charcuterie we headed back out and had a nice walk. The Town Hall was lit up nicely. The building itself is kind of odd as it looks like several buildings of distinctly different styles were grafted together. Somehow, in Ghent, it just seems to work.

The Belfry and the Dutch Theatre looked quite dramatic at dusk…..just like a movie set.

And that party at Groentenmarkt was still going strong. Different band, but maybe, the same folks were still hanging out?

On the way back, we stopped in at what is probably the Missus's favorite bar in the world; Dulle Griet.

A combination of locals and tourists, this slightly dumpy and divey joint, with somewhat grumpy staff and a beer list of over 250 was just the right fit for us. We just felt at home.

We quickly noticed that there were several people walking around with only one shoe on. Apparently, if you order a "max beer", which looks like a liter, you need to leave a shoe as collateral. It is then hoisted in a basket to the ceiling. To prevent folks from stealing the glass perhaps?

I guess once you pay your tab, you get your footwear back.

And then there's our infamous "Duchesse" experience. The place had Duchesse De Bourgogne on tap, the Missus's favorite. So we ordered it….well, we tried to order it. The woman kept going "huh?" So I showed her the beer list and she went "oooohh, Doo-Chezz….doo-chezz….ha-ha-ha-ha, snort, snort." She then pointed us out to the other server and they giggled and snorted, I guess we were the big joke of the night. Anyway, this was the best "Doo-chezz" I've ever tasted….slightly pruney, balsamic like tones…the temperature was perfect. Much better than what I've had back here in the states….even on tap. We'd noticed that something is lost when beer is transported.

My Bornem Trippel seemed so mild in comparison…..

We loved this place…….even though we were now known as the "Doo-chezz" couple.

Dulle Griet
Vrijdagmarkt 50
Ghent, Belgium

And we sure were enjoying Ghent!

Ghent Day 1: Tierenteyn-Verlent, Kaas Mekka, Yuzu Chocolatier, and Gruut Brewery

July 31, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgium, Cheese, Chocolate, Markets & Grocers, Travel

If you'd ask the Missus and I what our favorite city in Belgium was, the answer would be unanimous. It would be Ghent. Unpretentious and quite easy to like and navigate, not quite as touristy as Bruges, we loved the vibe that this city of 250,000 gave off. Ghent is but a 40 minute train ride away from Brussels. And like Bruges, Ghent has those wonderful canals as well.

It's just not crawling with all those tourists……

And a strange thing happened to us here….in a way, we even forgot we were tourists. That part of the brain which dictates the places to be and the places you need to see got shut off. Instead, we just enjoyed the city. From the time we caught Tram #1, getting off near Het Gravensteen (The Castle of the Counts), walking to our apartment near Vrijdagmarkt, we felt so at ease.

The city is full of "market squares". Indeed, we were staying one block away from Vrijdagmarkt – Friday Market Square. Having stowed our stuffs, we headed out, down the street to Groentenmarkt – Vegetable Market, which ironically has the ever bustling Meat Market right next to it.

The interior of the structure is quite impressive; the place was built without nails, and hams still hang form the ceiling……this was once the only place in the city where meat was allowed to be sold. These days it's a bustling restaurant.

Right across the way is this famous shop.

Tierenteyn-Verlent is known for their mustard and has been selling it since 1790. I read that it is still made in the basement of the shop.

It's some heady stuff. Guaranteed to clear those sinuses and quite good as well. We bought a small jar, but it cracked before we got past Bruges.

Luckily, I've got some great friends and Candice bought us a bottle when she returned from her trip to Ghent.

Tierenteyn-Verlent
Groentenmarkt 3
Gent, Belgium

We were having so much fun that I totally forgot to take photos until we were close to City Hall. Along the way there's a little portal and a street; Werregaren Straat, walking down the alley, the faint smell of urine in the air, you'll be on "Graffitistraat" – Graffiti Street.

This is Ghent's solution to Belgium's strict laws on graffiti; it is basically illegal and the penalties stiff. Ghent has designated this street as an expression free zone for Ghent's graffiti artists.

Some of the creations are quite amazing…..

We passed many landmarks along the way, like Saint Nicholas' Church which was built between the 13th and 15th century. This is considered one of the "three towers of Ghent".

Most of the grand historic structures in Ghent are in the area of Saint Bavo Square.

In retrospect, we should have been better at playing the tourist, but we were just enjoying the city.

South of this area, down what seem some rather small streets is Ghent's shopping area, full of interesting shops. We saw this one; named Kaas Mekka.

This was cheese heaven. We couldn't help but purchase some for our next two dinners.

Delici-yoso!!!

Kaas Mekka
Koestraat 9
Ghent, Belgium

Exploring further down the street we started coming across crowds of people….apparently there was some kind of major sidewalk shopping festival going on.

A very festive kind of vibe going on…….even a band or two along the way.

It looked like some folks even brought their own chairs and sat outside restaurants and bars….enjoying the sun and a nice beverage (and a nap?) or two.

It was in the area right across the river that we found the first spot I wanted to "hit". We were on the hunt for chocolates for my MIL and I'd heard some great things about a shop named Yuzu.

This shop is the result of former archaeologist Nicolas Vanaise's passion for Japanese and Middle Eastern Culture and chocolate. The flavors presented are a product of his travels. This was by far the best; and most interesting chocolate we bought on this trip…..flavors like Whiskey and Cuban Tobacco…..

Yuzu
Walpoortstraat 11
Ghent, Belgium

This made a nice addition to the "collection" we put together for my MIL.

Right around the corner from Yuzu was another one of my target destinations. Even among the beer-focused Belgians; Gruut Brewery is unique. Before hops were used for beer making, a mixture of spices were used instead. This medieval mix was called gruut; the namesake of Gruut. Annick De Splenter is the owner and brew master here.

The place looks quite low keyed from the outside, but was quite busy. There was one large table of folks who were obviously on a "beer tour" and each beer was introduced and explained to them in detail. Meanwhile other folks were reading, chilling, just hanging out, and having a nice time.

We basically tasted everything before deciding on what we really wanted. My favorite was the Amber; which had some caramel tones, and a touch of sweetness. The beer has a really nice tongue coating texture and there is even a mild bitter finish so you're not really missing the hops.

It was a nice beer and we ended up buying a four pack to take with us back to the apartment.

Two ambers and two of the Missus's favorite.

The Blonde, which was very drinkable, light, fizzy, with an interesting herbaceous finish. Nice beer for a hot summer day….I'm kind of wishing for a pint of this today since it's been really humid here in San Diego.

They gave us a couple of Gruut Coasters when we bought our beer.

One quick thing. If you visit Gruut and are male, make sure to drink enough beer so that you'll be able to visit the restroom. The urinals are quite "unique"…..

"Feed me, Seymour - Feed me all night long…….."

Gruut Stadsbrouwerij
Grote Huidevettershoek 10
Ghent, Belgium

As you can tell….we were having a blast!

Thanks for reading!

Miramar Cash & Carry Market- Indian treats

July 30, 2015 Cathy Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, Markets & Grocers, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Three friends share the writing responsibilities here. Kirk, who is busy with work right now, Ed(from Yuma) who is busy with retirement right now and Cathy, who is blogging this post for you right now.

I've written a good portion of the posts on this blog about local Markets and Grocers, usually mentioning that most have in store restaurants…and then showing you some of the meals from those restaurants.

This Indian grocery store doesn't have a hot foods area.Located on Miramar road, just West of the 15 between Black Mountain Road and the North entrance to MCAS Miramar, the signage caught our eye.

The "Simply South" advertisement of 'fresh batter made here' is why we began shopping here regularly. This very clean, well stocked, quite large Indian grocery has been here since 2011. There's a good selection of fresh produce, yogurts, pre-packaged naan, a whole aisle of just coffees and teas and malt beverage drink mixes and an open refrigerator of various roti. Rice of all types (and brands) along the far wall, frozen foods(35 doors) along the entire back wall.Other brands of dough (in addition to the Simply South brand) for making fresh Dosa, Idli and Uttapam are also sold in the refrigerated area. Sweets and kitchen/household items are also sold here. There are also aisles of sauces, spices, mixes and snacks, none of which did I take photos…it's almost overwhelming for someone who doesn't know brands. I must say that everything I have purchased here has turned out to be very good…but I've spent a lot of time reading the labels for ingredients.Beverages (Indian beer in the refrigerator), syrups…pretty much a regular grocery store…with the most interesting area in front of the cash registers.
Yes, I'm pretty certain the words "Kwality Ice Cream" on the storefront signage caught your eye in that second photo. The Founder of Kwality, a Food Technologist and Flavorist, pretty much began the company while studying at Rutgers University. The photo above, my first taste of 'pistachio nut' had such a complex blend of other flavors (saffron, cardamom and others) all complementing the nutty pistachio flavor.This Falooda Drink for $6 is probably the most wonderful and decadent flavor blend I've had in a very long time. Falooda noodles, watercress seeds, rose syrup, rose kulfi and malai kulfi. The flavor mix was refreshing and cooling and so very different.

The ice cream here makes shopping so much fun.

Cash & Carry 9252 Miramar Road San Diego 92126 (858)566-4819 Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat-Sun 9-9 Website

Revisits: Sang Deuan and Tim Ky Noodle

July 29, 2015 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of short revisits to two places that just opened up in the last year.

Sang Deuan:

**** Sang Deuan has closed

I hadn't been back since my first couple of visits in March. So I thought why not? I was kind of craving some Nem Khao….but like many of my first visits, it was "no bueno"…..

So I went with some Salted Fish Fried Rice.

A decent version, not too salty, rice a bit more mushy than I like. If you don't like chunks of preserved fish in your fried rice; this version might do it for you as the salted fish is finely minced.

I was looking for something to have with my meal and the Whole Fried Fish was recommended. I must have had vapor lock since I just went ahead and got it without asking what kind of fish…..tilapia….sigh….

Fried to death and beyond…….dry flesh, but at least it didn't taste too muddy. I've got stories about tilapia and growing up in Hawaii….sometimes called "the mahimahi of the Ala Wai Canal".

Sang Deuan Thai & Lao Kitchen
3904 Convoy St. Suite 112
San Diego, CA 92111

Tim Ky Noodle:

Well, it had been over 6 months since my last visit, and in spite of the heat, I thought I'd get some Bun Suong. Which unfortunately is no longer on the menu, which look a bit abbreviated from what I recalled. So I went with the Won Ton and Dumpling Egg Noodle soup which I recalled was pretty decent compared to other versions in San Diego.

While I don't expect excellence in won tons and dumplings in "Mi shop" versions, these weren't quite as good as I'd previously had. They were still more tender than say Luong Hai Ky or Minh Ky. The real difference between what I'd had before was how bland the broth was; there was a shortage of flavor and richness in this bowl. Just compare it to what I had on my previous visit:

Quite a difference, eh?

It's hard to complain about a bowl of noodle soup that is cheaper than a sandwich (not of the banh mi species), but this was nowhere as good as what I'd had before. Disappointing and kind of sad….I'm hoping this is the exception and not the rule.

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