mmm-yoso – Page 326 – 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.

Mariscos Monday: Kiko’s Place Mariscos Truck

July 7, 2014 mmm-yoso Blog

Recently, when driving on Friar's Road I noticed a taco truck in the parking lot of Del Mesa Liquor Store.

The name sounded really familiar. I'm thinking this was the truck that used to be on Texas Street? Anyway, it was close enough to lunch…..like 10am…let's call it brunch.

The woman working…well everything it seems, she took my order, prepped the food, was the cashier was very nice. I know…fish tacos, right? Well, no…for me it was a Taco Gobernador and a Taco de Marlyn.

These aren't cheap tacos….four bucks each, but man, they were pretty hefty. No consomme offered….not sure what would happen if I asked.

The Marlyn…smoked fish was ok, the amount of fish was generous.

Things tasted on the fishy end of the scale and I would have enjoyed more smoke flavor and salt. I always think of the fish hitting an almost bacon flavor. No complaints about portion size, though I didn't enjoy the tortillas which fell to pieces.

The Gobernador (the "Governor") was a bit better.

Here there were just the little things I missed; the cheese melted on the tortilla to shield it from the juices, helping to keep it intact. I appreciate a little tomato for acid, or some red bell pepper for sweetness. The onions and bell pepper could have been stir fried a bit more; it was bit on the raw side. Can't complain about the shrimp; though not deveined, were moist and plump. Again, the portion size was generous.

Here things get….well kind of humorous. While I was waiting for my salsas to be prepared…this is what you get when you're early; a very proper Vietnamese Couple got out of an SUV. The gentleman, suit and tie, walked on over to the ATM…..the woman came on over and…how do I put it, checked out my Gobernador. Apparently she approved, she then walked over to the window and tried to order a "chicken burrito with french fries….." Well, maybe not. I could understand her, but the woman in the truck could not…she would ask her to explain and the customer did not understand what she was saying…… Which left me to translate….very strange. I mean really, the guy from Hawaii, if you read the blog long enough…with the really bad writing…..I kinda write the way I talk…..

So anyway, it becomes this strange conversation of, "pollo" to the taco truck lady….. "no pollo"…."No Chicken"….."papas fritas"….."no, no papas fritas…..", "no french fry here….." She wanted a shrimp taco……"taco de camaron…." and what I had, "taco de gobernador…." Funny thing was; we were all speaking English! Well, sometimes I think I barely speak English……. But I guess I speak Taco Truck???

Anyway, from what I had, it's a case of decent quality, with good quantity, and that might just do it for you. Heck, we used to live a couple of blocks away….there were times I would have loved to grab a couple of tacos to go with my cervezas…..

Kiko’s Place
Corner of Friar's Road and Vis Las Cumbres

French Omakase: Bistro Laurent in Paso Robles

July 6, 2014 ed fromyuma Fine Dining, French Restaurants, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Again today it is Ed (from Yuma) blogging, not Kirk or Cathy. More about his vacation in Paso Robles.

Every evening in Paso we had to decide on dinner. Steve and Helen and Tina and I had rooms in an old-fashioned 1950s style motel only a couple of blocks from the beautiful little park downtown. Where once I had had difficulties finding a good meal in Paso, now there were numerous restaurants serving all kinds of wine friendly cuisine, at a range of different price points, all within easy walking distance of the motel. So every evening we would stroll around, read menus, and discuss the possibilities at great length. We started the process fairly early so no serious danger of anybody actually starving.

On Tuesday evening, we wanted to get a look at the menu at Bistro Laurent, which had been closed Monday. The restaurant sits kitty corner from the northwest point of the park and is located in an old brick building:

On the right side of this picture is the outdoor/indoor patio area, right next to the actual entrance (picture taken later):

We looked at the menus. There were various dishes à la carte, appetizers, salads, entrées, etc. There were also prix fixe dinner options: four courses or five courses; with wines or not. The hostess then explained that we could just allow the chef to decide our dinner selections based on what he wanted to prepare. That sounded way too easy – French bistro Omakase. We sat in the enclosed patio area, and all decided on the chef's four choices with wine.

An amuse bouche, sort of a mini bruschetta, showed up first:

It was okay, certainly, but to my mouth, not especially amusing.

The server then poured us each a small glass of French Chablis:

We all thought it was a fine dry Chardonnay, and we all loved the breads that showed up next. Each of us grabbed half of a slice of the rustic dark olive bread to start:

There was also the equivalent of a small baguette of crusty French bread in the bread basket as well:

The next item to hit our table was the first course, warm lobster salad:

Wow! In the center of the plate stood a mound of chopped mesclun lettuce topped with and surrounded by large chunks of moist warm fresh poached lobster. Numerous chunks – excellent quality. And the whole salad was brought together by the mild creamy white sauce. Three orange slices and green and red flecks for color.

The next thing to arrive at our table was clean stemware for our glasses of La Vieille Ferme, a pleasant blended French red wine from the Rhône Valley:

To our initial surprise, the dish to accompany this red wine was grilled sturgeon, lying on a bed of al dente French lentils in a savory cream sauce:

But combination of wine and ingredients worked. The fish was not overcooked, it's mild fleshy flavor accented by the earthy lentils and both balanced by the light red wine:

After we finished the course, our wine glasses were changed again and a full flavored 2009 Paso Robles syrah from Clavo vineyards was poured to complement the meat course:

Two large pieces of venison, roasted medium rare, sat on top of a thick disk of fried mashed potatoes. Not only did I enjoy the accompanying blueberry sauce; I also savored the sprig of fresh marjoram, taking little bites of the herb occasionally as I chewed the deeply flavored deer meat:

The chef's choice of desserts was accompanied by small glasses of Sauternes, a sweet golden wine made from late harvested white wine grapes affected by pourriture noble, which gives the wine a honeyed richness:

The desert itself was a fresh fig tart topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and surrounded by vanilla and caramel sauces:

The pastry was light and flaky. Figs, vanilla, caramel mingled light sweet flavors. Umm-yoso.

Even though each dinner (with wine) was $69, all four of us thought we received good value. No one left hungry – in fact, we were all stuffed. The wines had been well-chosen and enhanced the foods . The pours were generous for a prix fixe dinner. The service throughout the meal was outstanding without being annoying or intrusive – very friendly, helpful, and professional. The meal was a culinary highlight of our visit to Paso Robles.

Doing this post reminded me that I had first eaten at the restaurant back in the summer of 2002. It is interesting that a few things have changed for the better over the years, but the chef has stayed true to his basic vision. And his vision looks pretty good to me!

Bistro Laurent, 1202 Pine Street, Paso Robles CA, (805) 226-8191, 11:30 – 2:00 and 5:30 – 10:00 Tues – Sat. Website

Prague: A little self catering and Wenceslas Square

July 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Cooking, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

We had intended on getting the the Charles Bridge from the Old Town Square but had ended up at the the Manesuv Bridge. As we headed down toward the Charles Bridge storm clouds could be seen above the Castle Quarter. Indeed, by the time we reached the very gothic Bridge Tower we could tell that it was going to start pouring. Umbrellas started opening and in a matter of a minute or two it started coming down….our little travel umbrella came in quite handy. As I started to walk toward the bridge, the Missus told me to wait, "let's go back to the apartment and save the bridge for early tomorrow morning…." So we turned around and crossed the street in front of the "Klementinum", the National Library.

We made our way down the side streets and suddenly ended up right in front of what became our major landmark and daily stop for us, the giant Tesco Department store.

After our heavy lunch, we decided to grab some head cheese, cheese, and makings for salad for dinner….and a couple of beers as well of course! The lower level of the department store houses a large supermarket with just about everything you would need.

Our apartment had a huge living and bedroom, plus a serviceable kitchen area. Our flat was on the third floor with a view of tiny Odburu Street below. We found the amount of "security" a bit over-the-top, the deadbolt on the door to the street was super heavy duty….it nearly broke your fingers to turn the key. Then, once in the building there was a security gate, which was heavy-duty, making me feel like we were headed into a super-max. The door had a knob lock, deadbolt, and alarm system. One can never be too secure I guess.

Nevertheless, the place was large, comfortable, and dealing with the folks at PVH Odburu was a joy. It was nice to be able to come back after a long day and hang out here. The location was great, not in tourist hell, but just a 15-20 minute walk from everywhere.

We've come to enjoy apartments when traveling, this one had a washer/dryer as well. Of course, we tried to take full advantage of the kitchen.

This was a nice, light, and satisfying dinner. Of course the Missus had to have Her cabbage. Later, on our return trip to Prague we found a decent specialty shop down the street with a better selection of charcuterie and cheese.

Having just been in Brussels, the beer in Prague had been a bit too "light" for our tastes. Though I bought this as sort of a novelty…..

I saw this and knowing the history just had to check it out. No, it's not who you think it is. You may think that Budweiser is an "All-American" beer, but there's been a fight over then name for 108 years. Anyway, České Budějovice (aka Budweis) is actually a city in the Czech Republic. You can imagine what an ugly trademark war has been taking place. I'm not sure you even know that Anheuser-Busch is actually owned by a Belgian Company, InBev. Well, whatever, this "Premier Select" was actually pretty good….it was in fact, the best beer we had in Prague our first time around. Light, but not "lightweight", mildly hoppy, with a sweet finish.

Dinner done, but with a good stretch of daylight still in front of us the Missus decided that She wanted to walk around a bit. The skies had cleared up a bit, so we headed out.

The Missus wanted to go back to Wenceslas Square, which is more like a boulevard that stretches from the National Museum to Na Prikope which basically borders the New Town and the Old Town.

It's a lively place, full of tourists and locals alike.

We loved the varying architecture, each building was unique, like snowflakes. Like the Art Nouveau Hotel Europa.

With all this historic architecture, it's easy to forget that "Czechoslovakia" was a Communist, single party government until 1989. From November to December of 1989, the event called the Velvet Revolution took place, with demonstrations and strikes leading to a transition from single party rule to a parliamentary republic. According to what I read, crowds of hundreds of thousands gathered here when it seemed that a new age was at hand.

It was on the balcony of Number 36 that Václav Havel and Alexander Dubček made their appearance signaling an end to single party rule.

We soon realized there's so much history here, that if/when we're back in the future, we'd look into getting a private guide and do this right.

There's a statue of Saint Wenceslas….yes it's Wenceslas I, aka "Good King Wenceslas". Which stands across the street from the National Museum, which was closed for renovation during our stay.

05312014 D60 073

Darkness started to fall as we headed back down the square. We paused to listen to the really talented guy playing what I believe is a Cimbalom. This dude was really good; he was jamming to the standard "Autumn Leaves" and doing some pretty good improvisation. The Missus thought it funny that I could recognize the music being played by street musicians and small bands.

There was one more place the Missus wanted to check out before heading back….yep, Old Town Square.

Though the crowds had thinned, there were still a good number of people milling about.

We then headed back and settled in for a nice night.

The place had great wifi, so I went ahead and did a post, and opened up the two beers I had gotten earlier at Tesco.

I really didn't care for either. Did you notice the "degree" values on the beer? No, it doesn't mean percentage of alcohol, rather, it's a percentage on the Balling Scale measuring the sugars in the wort before fermentation. There is an indirect correlation to alcohol content; a 12 degree beer will be stronger than a 10 degree beer, but the alcohol content of a 10 degree is about 3.5%.

We'd had a pretty busy day which led to a wonderful night of sleep. Which was good since the Missus had a busy day aplnned for us!

Thanks for reading!

The 2014 San Diego County Fair-Part Two-sights, foods and fun!

July 3, 2014 Cathy Festivals & Events, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Sometimes there are situations surrounding the acquisition of food. Today's post is about one of those times. Cathy is writing.

The 2014 San Diego County Fair opened on June 7. It will close this Sunday, July 6. Plan to go over there soon to join in the festivities of this "Fab Fair". I'm going to mostly add photos and just a few explanations at the end. The fifth largest County Fair in the USA is overwhelming with things to see, do and eat.

As I said, overwhelming. The Mister and I have been here multiple times, met friends, gone with family and tried out the various food items. There have been countless competition entries in so many categories within Home & Hobby, Design in Wood, Gems, Minerals & Jewelry, Photography, Fine Art and all of their subcategories. There have been Daily Contests, 4H competitions (and those animals will be auctioned on July 5), instructional presentations, pig races, turkey stampede, Garden Show, concerts, the New Farm at Family Funville near the Kid's Zone. You've missed the Toast of the Coast Wine Festival, San Diego International Beer Festival and the 10th annual Gospel Festival. There is still a daily Craft Beer/Wine Experience in the Home & Hobby area and on July 5, the Big Bite Bacon Fest will be back.

Some of the photos of food consumed include the fresh made cream puff, pretzel, $2 Tuesday samples, zucchini curls, a Pink's chili dog, Indian fry bread and grilled cauliflower sandwich (a new item and personal favorite of mine; I've had/shared four this year, so far).

There is a free shuttle and parking near the Fairgrounds, if you don't want to pay the $10 fee. It's all listed on the Website. Hope to see you there! You can see fireworks all over the county at 9 p.m. on July 4, but the fireworks seen from the Midway at the Fair are particularly beautiful.Other Blogger perspectives of the 2014 San Diego County Fair Here, Here and Here. Here too.

Midweek Meanderings: Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, How does our garden grow update, and our new caffeine rush

July 2, 2014 mmm-yoso Caffeine Fix, yoso-silly

Yep, it's really Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas:

Need proof?

A couple of years ago, author Natasha Yim contacted me regarding a certain recipe I had on the blog. Apparently it turned out rather well for her and she wanted to use an adapted version in a children's book she was writing. I was quite humbled, flattered in fact. A few later, her editor Alyssa Mito Pusey….who actually is an ex-pat Kama'aina as well contacted me to get the paperwork done. And so it came to pass…..

I was quite surprised to receive an rather large envelope in the mail last week. In it was a signed copy of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, which is quite a cute book, a really nice story. And at the back of the book is an adaptation of one of my recipes…and this:

You know, our little blog is a labor of love…and of well, obsession. We aren't looking for a revenue stream, advertisers, or to market ourselves. So this was such a nice touch, more than I could ever have asked for. Good luck with the book Natasha!

And if you want to get your own copy of Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas, you can get it here.

How does our garden grow – an update:

So here's an update. The Missus is really pleased with how our okra is coming along….large and quite sweet.

We've been able to roast, grill, or pan fry Padrons and Shishitos a couple of times a week…..

The serranos are fruiting quite prolifically…the Missus prefers to wait until they get red, so we're picking a mixed bunch.

I'm not sure what to think about the huge mutant scallions we got growing…..I've three patches of scallions. This one was bought during one of those 10 bunches for 99 cent things last year…..I just stuck them in a left over window box and they are going nuts!

The ghost peppers seems a bit small so far this year. A few cherry sized peppers have already ripened.

The Missus actually likes the small ripened peppers because they are just the right size for "stir frying without dying….."

Meanwhile, the Scorpion Peppers are getting ominously large…….

The Red Habaneros are finally starting to fruit….can't wait for these. In addition to this plant, I have smaller ones that will probably get going later in the season.

We're still waiting for the cucumbers to kick in. Last year we were getting 3-4 a week.

We're having so much fun with pepper that we added a few more last week……

This might end up being one spicy summer!

And for our caffeine fix:

It seemed that every apartment, B&B, and room we stayed at in Belgium had a Nespresso machine. I'd really started enjoying getting a shot of espresso on the go when in Portugal last year. We had started really getting used to having one of these….so we decided to get one of the smaller models…using points and discounts, we ended up paying less than half price for it.

In talking to folks about this….I never knew how much some people are into Nespresso…..talking to me about limited editions …accessories……sheeesh! I just want a nice cup of espresso! Though I am finding I enjoy the Dulsao do Brasil…….uh-oh!

Bella Vista Caffe (revisit)

July 1, 2014 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, European Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Kirk is extremely busy today. Ed(from Yuma) is also very preoccupied with things to do, so Cathy is sharing a recent Happy Hour meal.

I've posted about Bella Vista Caffe and have been here many times, just not documenting the wonderful meals here. If you read the prior post, you know the Caffe is located in the medical research office park area of La Jolla, near UCSD and the Torrey Pines Glider Port and serves brunch on the weekend (when we usually visit). (Be sure to bring your parking ticket to the restaurant; it will be validated).Above is a view from the balcony. Yes, that is the Pacific Ocean.One recent evening, just after 4 p.m. we decided to stop in (actually we were avoiding traffic after leaving the County Fair) and the menus given to us included Happy Hour pricing. (The craft beer was $3.70 on the receipt; I'm unsure of the regular price).Well, $2 off the 'antipasti' part of the menu and craft beer and wine discounts were an unexpected surprise. In addition, we had never seen this menu before. After a day of eating unusual food at the Fair, we were in the mood for ordering things we never had tried before.

Yep, neither of us has ever had beef carpaccio before ($8.95 Happy Hour price). We will order this from now on- the thinly sliced raw beef, topped with arugula and shaved Parmesan and a dressing of lemon and olive oil was so wonderfully decadent. The very flavorful marbled raw beef was plentiful, the peppery arugula was crispy fresh and the shaved Parmesan complimented everything so very well. L'Argentino empanada plate ($8.95 HH price) was wonderful. The menu states there are four empanadas, with choices of fillings- we asked for two beef, one chicken and one spinach and received two smaller spinach empanadas. The aioli in the center was (I think) sun dried tomato flavored. It complimented the crispy baked empanada crust.
The fillings were plentiful and richly flavored, as if each had been a very tasty stew before being placed inside the crust, which was baked to crunchy perfection. The spinach had an excellent flavor, was not watery and was as good as the meat varieties. You can see the onion and bits of red pepper and herbs in the fillings. I will order this again, but in addition to trying other items from this menu. The food was familiar yet new again. We really like it here.

Bella Vista Social Club & Caffe 2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 (858) 534-9624 Website

Carnitas El Botanero (Lemon Grove)

June 30, 2014 Cathy Mexican Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Today, Kirk is busy with work as well as eating and photographing his meals, Ed(from Yuma) is busy with retirement and eating and photographing his meals and Cathy is writing, because she is finally not busy and has time to write and organize her photos.

It's the once every four years FIFA World Cup (Federation Internationale de Football Association) time of year, and going to most restaurants with televisions has been a challenge. The Mister and I try to go in between games or on days off, since the entire series of games started June 12 and won't end until July 13.

One of our favorite 'close by' restaurants is in Lemon Grove. It used to be the original location of Carnitas Uruapan, which moved to a smaller location after the original owner died. Still, it specializes in carnitas and has some other interesting menu items, in addition to breakfast and lunch specials:
The interior has remained unchanged from the Uruapan days. (Yes, that is a rerun of the morning World Cup match on the television).Even the old juke box is still here. The Mister and I both enjoy the chile based salsas, made fresh here daily. You can see the many ingredients. Above, the lunch green salad with carne asada ($7.75), which was a nice, light lunch a few weeks ago. The carne here is very good. The carnitas plate for one ($7.95), is (more than) a 1/2 pound of excellent carnitas, served with rice, beans (wonderful), cilantro, onions, corn tortillas and the salsa fresca.The slow cooked beef barbacoa plate ($8.50) here is served in the above manner – the lengthy steaming makes the meat tender and fork-ably easy to shred. It's served in/with the cooking sauce/juice, which is slightly salty and nicely smokey. The saltiness 'calms down' with the addition of onions, cilantro and pieces of corn tortillas. This is very comforting and excellent.

The shrimp ceviche tostada ($3.95) is quite large. It's made when you order. Part of the marinade is fresh oregano which compliments but does not overwhelm the quite large shrimp. I get cravings for this particular ceviche version.

The carnitas taquitos ($5.45) is part of the lunch special menu and the fried corn tortillas are just so delicate and thin/crispy; you can taste the meat. Topped with a considerable amount of sour cream, fresh made guacamole and a sort of salad, these four rolled tacos and accompaniments are a meal.

Carnitas Botanero 8035 Broadway Lemon Grove 91945 (619)462-3020 Mon-Thurs 8-8, Fri-Sat 8-10, Sun 8-9

In case you are following the World Cup, here's a great visual of the official logo and Groups participating. It's printed on an official FIFA souvenier grocery bag I purchased at Vallarta Supermarket ($2.99) a few weeks ago.

Sunday Sandwiches: Mama’s Grill

June 29, 2014 mmm-yoso Sandwiches

** Update: Mama's Grill has Closed

I keep finding little sandwich places I never knew existed…….this shop is pretty close to work, in the same strip mall as Jersey Mike's and Sieu Sieu BBQ. I'm not quite sure why I missed this place, I guess it's overshadowed by the chains….Carl's Jr, Rubio's Test Kitchen, Jersey Mike's…..not places I usually frequent.

If I recall, this place used to be Sima's Grill? Which sadly, I never had the chance to try either.

I wasn't going to let this place go without checking it out. I'd finished up some meetings and had a late lunch…late for me is like 130pm, I usually like to eat at 11….things are less crazy on "the Mesa" at 11.

The placed looked like any of a number of sandwich shops scattered throughout San Diego. The meat is Boar's Head…and like I said in my post on Crossroads Deli; Boar's Head, is Boar's Head. I like to see what interesting items are on the menu. Well, there's no shortage of that here, some of it, like the 1 pound "T-Rex" is a bit over-the-top.

I decided on the "Surf and Turf"($9.95). I didn't expect the hefty sandwich that I got.

This was a two-fisted sandwich. In fact, i only finished half of it. The beef, as expected was on the chewy side and kind of bland. I was surprised how many shrimp were in the sandwich. I like the finely shredded lettuce on this….it gave even more texture to sandwich. For me, what really made this thing tick was the cilantro pesto and the chipotle (I know it's everywhere – but it worked here) sauce. It just gave everything that little umph it needed.

I couple of days later I tried Ma's Muffuletta ($8.95). This I was less impressed with.

The sandwich was basically a pressed panini, the bread toasted a bit too hard. There was a generous portion of capicola, prosciutto (low grad and very salty), and supposedly mortadella…which I couldn't make out. The pressing had rendered a lot of the fat making this kind of greasy…..there wasn't enough bread or anything to balance out the amount of salt in the olive spread and meat. Again, I could only finish half the sandwich, but for a different reason……

Another day of meetings, another late lunch. I decided to stop at Mama's and take something back to the office. I quickly ordered Ma's Veggie ($7.55).

First off, I like the way the bread was "pressed/griddles", it really provided some nice texture. I was also surprised at the amount of avocado in this sandwich. For some reason, the cream cheese seemed like overkill…perhaps if the sandwich also had some sprouts and shredded lettuce to add more contrasting textures and interest.

Still, this wasn't a bad sandwich by any means….in fact I was told they'd make anything anyway I want it….sounds like a veggie minus the cream cheese with lettuce, cilantro and chipotle sauce, doesn't it?

Mama’s Grill
7420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mon – Fri 830am – 5pm
Sat 9am – 330pm
Sun 1030am – 230pm

Paso Robles Wine Tasting Adventure

June 28, 2014 ed fromyuma Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy get a break today because Ed (from Yuma) wants to take the reader on a wine tasting experience in Paso Robles.

About 30 years ago when I moved to California, I discovered tasting at wineries, one of the true pleasures available to Californians who enjoy wine. Don't worry, this blog post will not be full of pictures of wine bottles and glasses of wine. Most wine in a glass looks like most any other wine in the same glass. And no one goes wine tasting just to look at the bottles. I will also try hard to avoid wine babble as much as I can.

Instead, I just want to share a recent wine tasting adventure up in Paso Robles.

J Dusi

Tina and I had left the San Gabriel Valley munching on banh mi around 11 AM and arrived in Paso around 3 PM. We met up with Steve and Helen (old friends from Monterey) and decided to head out to do a little tasting. I wanted to start at J Dusi:

The tasting room for this winery, located on Highway 46 south of Paso Robles and a little west of Highway 101, has only been open about a year, but I wanted to visit because I had had a wonderful bottle of Zinfandel from Janell Dusi’s winery with a dinner at Artisan Restaurant on my last visit to Paso. I was surprised that she herself was in the tasting room on that Monday:

Her great-grandfather originally planted Dusi vinyards in the 1920s, making them truly old vine, and Ridge winery, which has focused on making wine from classic, high quality, old vine vineyards, has made limited edition zinfandels from the fruit for dozens of years now.

The zinfandels (a 2011 and 2012) are 2/5 of the wines on the tasting menu ($10):

Janell pointed out the differences between the two zinfandels. 2011, a cool year, produced a wine that is spicy, smooth, and complex. 2012, having warmer weather, gave a wine with a bolder more intense berry fruit flavors. OK, yeh, we could taste that.

To accompany the wines, we were served a small wooden tray with fruits, nuts, and rice crackers:

That was a nice touch. As was the cork art on the wall:

Jada

We left that winery at around 4:30 PM, so we simply drove to Vineyard Drive and looked for tasting room that was still open. We found Jada, a winery I had never heard of previously:

The tasting room was very modern, clean, and attractive:

Looking the other way, large glass panels separate the tasting area from a special wine storage and display room and reflect some of the rural natural setting the winery:

Here the tasting options were more complicated; visitors can taste five wines from a regular or special list ($10 or $15) and can choose to taste the wines with chocolate or cheese:

Tina and I chose cheese. Each cheese matched a particular wine and showed off that wine’s flavor profile best:

We had a good time chatting with the pleasant young woman running the tasting room, and we learned that most of the grapes come from the estate vineyards which are all managed biodynamically. Almost every bottle of wine exhibited a unique blend of classic varietals. We enjoyed our visit.

Calcareous

The next morning, Steve, Helen, Tina, and I decided to start at Calcareous vineyards, just a few miles west of the town Paso Robles itself. This was another new winery that had been receiving a lot of favorable mention. Clearly the tasting room is a modern construction:

The vista from the patio outside the tasting room is pretty and spectacular, miles and miles of rolling hills at the beautiful southern end of the Salinas Valley:

Inside the pleasantly decorated tasting room itself, there was extensive use of wood, stone, and marble:

Again, for $10 a visitor could taste five different wines, all grown on vineyards owned or managed by the winery:

Kurt who was pouring in the tasting room that morning, called our attention to the white wine that began the tasting, explaining how one could taste each of the three types of grapes used in the blend – the viognier with its flowery aromas hitting the palate first, the grenache blanc providing clean smooth dry mineral flavors, and the roussane finishing with richer more buttery mouthfeel. He was right, I could taste all those things, so we made it a point to buy a bottle of this wine at the end of the tasting.

The winery also stressed that most of their grapes were grown in calcareous vineyards, the limestone stressing the grapes and producing more flavorful grape clusters. There was even a chunk of limestone rock in the tasting room:

We all felt this was a good beginning to our day of wine sampling, but it was time to go back and into Paso Robles and have lunch.

When I first tasted in the Paso Robles area in 1985, there were less than 10 wineries with tasting rooms if memory serves. I couldn't find any place for an interesting dinner. There was little to distinguish Paso Robles from other rural California towns. Now there are over 200 wineries and a vibrant restaurant scene. Our tasting theme for this year's visit was to seek out places where none of us had tasted before that we had heard good things about – or just happened to run across.

Caparone

However, after lunch on Tuesday, we headed north on Highway 101 to San Marcos Road, turned left, and drove along small two-lane road for a few miles until we came to Caparone winery, two very nondescript buildings at the end of a gravel driveway. The exterior of the tasting room looked like this:

This is true old school Paso Robles. Dave Caparone started making wines in his home in the early 1970s, and began Caparone vineyards in the late 70s when he purchased the property on San Marcos Rd., planted it to Zinfandel and Italian grape varietals, and built his modest winery and storage buildings on the property.

I do not believe I have ever done a wine tasting in the Paso Robles area without stopping in at Caparone winery.

The winery, now operated by Dave's son Marc, is a family operation that focuses on producing traditional unfined and unfiltered red wines that can age for years. Look at the list for the tasting in June 2014:

A couple things stand out. First, most of the other wines we tasted on our Paso Robles adventure retailed at over $30 – that seems standard for boutique wines in the area these days. All Caparone bottles were $16 with case and half case discounts. Caparone was also the only place we went that did not have the tasting fee. Gotta love the prices.

Second, look at the vintages. At every other winery we visited, the oldest wines that were served were from 2010, and most of the bottles came from 2012 or 2011. At Caparone, the newest wine was from 2010; in other words, Caparone is now selling wines that are aged so that they they don't have to be stored to achieve their peak flavors. I know of no other winery that does that – certainly none that sells aged wine at a basic price.

Caparone was also the first winery to bottle some traditional Italian grape varietals and cultivars. For example, the Sangiovese comes from cuttings obtained from one of the outstanding vineyards in Brunello di Montalcino and, with a little bit of aging, exhibits characteristic reddish brown tones:

Lone Madrone

After tucking a few cases of Caparone wines into the car, we drove south to Lone Madrone winery, a very new winery that showcases wines made by Neil Collins, the talented winemaker at Tablas Creek – the large Franco-American winery connected with Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape:

Five wines were available for a $10 tasting fee – 2 whites and three reds:

As you can see, quantities of these wines are very limited and the prices for them are pretty expensive, but the tastes were very pleasant. The four of us discussed how the blended white wine here, dominated by the roussane grape, had a distinctively different flavor profile from the one that had started our day at Calcareous.

We also enjoyed the wine label art – here a picture of James Dean who was killed in an automobile accident on Highway 46 in 1955:

Epoch

After Steve and Helen headed back to Monterey on Wednesday, Tina and I had time to try a couple of other wineries. This time we headed south and west, taking Highway 46 westward toward the ocean, then turning right on York Mountain Road. Up there we found Epoch winery, another new boutique winery operating out of the new building:

The interior is also bright and striking:

The long-range goal at Epoch is to restore and renovate the York Mountain winery building, which stands on the property:

As well as being scenic, York Mountain was the first winery in the Paso Robles area dating back to the 1880s.

We were able to taste 4 highly rated and expensive wines for $10:

Some of the grapes come from a vineyard begun by Polish statesman, pianist, and president, Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

We were also intrigued by the subtle salmon shade of the rosé wine:

Kenneth Volk

The last winery we went to during our stay in the Paso Robles area was KennethVolk Vineyards on Highway 46 a few miles east of Epoch. After parking, a visitor walks down a little trail through the entrance:

alongside a rustic building with the restrooms:

to the old barn like structure that is the tasting room:

Kenneth Volk founded Wild Horse Vineyards back in the day, and his new eponymous winery features wines made from numerous different grape varieties:

That's just the first half of the list – here are the rest:

Each of us could choose tastes of six of the wines for $10, so we were able to sample some unusual varieties (blaufrankisch or cabernet Pfeffer) , and some from unusual vineyard locations, such as San Benito County or Lime Kiln Valley. It was a nice change from the other tasting rooms we had been in and a pleasant conclusion to our tasting adventure.

All in all, Steve, Helen, Tina and I had fun exploring the Paso Robles wine region. We tried to be moderate and responsible in our consumption, particularly Tina who did most of the driving. Of course tasting the wines was fun, but just driving around the hills outside of Paso Robles, enjoying very pleasant weather, and talking with friends was a good time. Except for our visit to Caparone, we purchased very few bottles at the tasting rooms – those are usually the highest prices (outside of restaurants) that a person would have to pay for the wine. Many people spend several days in the Paso area sampling the wines and then make their purchases at the supermarket in town where many of the local wines are available at a discount price.

I realize this was a terribly long post, so if you've gotten this far, thank you for reading and I hope I have been able to convey some of the pleasures of wine tasting in Paso Robles.

Winery map

Porto: Matosinhos and Tito 2

June 27, 2014 mmm-yoso Porto, Portugal, Portuguese Food, Seafood, Travel

Ah yes, Sunday in Porto. Joao had told us when he gave us a short orientation to the apartment; many local restaurants are closed, of course tourist restaurants are open, but you don't want to eat in those, right?

Getting out early on Sunday, it was pretty obvious that things were going to be very quiet…..

The only place that seemed alive and kickin' at this hour was the corner coffee shop and bakery…….you still needed your morning "cafe express" even on Sunday! Strangely, after having their morning caffeine boost and pastry, there's no dallying around, folks just seemed to walk out of the shop and disappear, like a scene from Dr Who…….

We headed up the street…..empty except for just a few folks….stragglers it seemed…waiting to fall victim to the Sunday Zombie Apocalypse…

We headed off to the Minipreco Supermarket next to the Mercado do Bolhao…..which we knew was open, to grab a few items for dinner. Our cab was set to pick us up at 5am in the morning for our flight to Rome, so we decided to just have something light for dinner.

After a nice walk back to the apartment, dropping things off, we headed back up…..

Joao told us that on special Sundays, he takes his family to Matosinhos, a town located to the west of Porto….this is where the docks are….and where we were told, the fish come in and where locals go to eat it. So we headed off on the Metro, getting off at the Matosihnos Sul stop and finding ourselves in Matosihnos…..

We headed down a bit, turning on Rua Herois de Franca and after a couple of blocks things started perking up a bit. We hit a restaurant row. Each restaurant had what looked like makeshift dining areas set-up in front, which seemed to be built on wooden pallets.

You could tell that there was a bit of partying going on here on Saturday night….

There were restaurants all lined up in a row, simple looking tascas next to some pretty nice white tablecloth looking places. Most of them had a grill being primed in from of the shop…..

But which one to choose? Well Joao had told us to "walk past all the restaurants on the street, don't worry, do not get discouraged…..do not stop until you come to Tito 2." And so we did that, even passing Tito 1 on the way.

So this was the place, huh? It looked just like every other place on the street….but heck, Joao hadn't let us down yet!

We looked over and a very nice young man smiled, greeted and seated us, then proceeded to call another studious looking young man…who spoke perfect English….

You know, the pallet seating looked pretty nice, don't you think?

While we waited for our menus to arrive, I peeked around the corner where the grill action was just starting up.

The menu arrived….it was sardine season, so that was a no-brainer….I then saw something that was on my food "bucket list"….something that I just had to try…..I just knew this was going to be a great meal.

Meanwhile, the Missus had snuck off to use the restroom, coming back to tell me to check out the interior of the brick and mortar restaurant….which looked pretty nice.

Just next to the doorway were the "fresh catches"…fish you could select for your meal if you so desired.

Soon our appetizer arrived, something that I'd been waiting to eat for several years….I never thought I'd be getting it in Portugal……

These were percebes, goose barnacles, you know, the stuff you scrape off the hull of boats. Yes, they may be pests to some; but to the Spanish and the Portuguese these are delicacies…rather expensive delicacies. Our Server kindly suggested .2 kilos as being enough.

So the deal is you twist off the head of this, squirting water on yourself is mandatory……you then eat the flesh.

The flavor is intensely briney, like taking in a chewy piece of the ocean…I really liked the texture. It was a bit too briney for the Missus, but I loved the intense flavor.

The Missus wanted to give Sopa de Peixe, fish soup another try……this was really thick and a bit too fishy for our taste…like fishy glue. Not our thing.

The sardines on the other hand were fantastic.

So simply done, no messing around with a fresh product….rubbed in salt, a bit of acid, so nice. The finish was that rich oil that coats your tongue, but also very clean, without that lingering and somewhat off-putting bitter fishiness that often accompanies sardines. This was one of our favorite dishes during our trip.

The potatoes were very nice….so much flavor, so simply done; olive oil, salt, garlic, parsley….

The salad broke things up nicely….also simple.

I also ordered the Lulas Grelhadas – grilled squid with lemon and olive oil.

Perhaps not the best I've had, but nicely prepared.

What was really strange was that two parties came in after us; both spoke Portuguese…both looked at what we were eating and ended up ordering exactly the same thing (we'd already finished the percebes…), which I thought was kind of strange.

The price was amazing, all this, plus a carafe of wine and water for 36 Euros!

The service was very nice, the food very good…..if we're ever in Porto again, we're headed back to Tito 2.

Tito 2
Rua Herois de Franca 321
Matosinhos, Portugal

We stopped for some espresso before going to the metro stop. At the stop a metro police officer headed up to us. In some countries this is not a good sign…not here. He stopped to ask if we needed some help, but we already had our tickets. He smiled and look at us and asked, "how is you time here? Are you enjoying it….having any problems?" What could we say? We loved our time here….

Dinner for us was a simple deal……the Missus new "specialty", some head cheese, bread….a decent drinkable wine (and a beer to follow for me).

We had a nice night's sleep. We woke at 4am, got our act together, and our ride to airport was prompt. The way to the airport was interesting as we got to see what a sprawling city Porto was…….a city we were going to miss.

Thanks for reading!