mmm-yoso – Page 537 – 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.

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 1

December 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

I truly have some reservations about posting on Urasawa, mainly because so much information is out there. From the three posts on Chowhound that originally got my attention. You can find them, here, here, and here. And of course the ever informative Gayot feature. All of which I devoured. Before making reservations in October, I found and read this post. And after returning from Urasawa is this fine post on MySpace. All of which provide so much detail and information, and are written by writers much more skilled than I. But I thought I'd give it a shot, and we'll see where it lands. There is a wealth of detailed information on those posts, so please read them.

So Urasawa, huh, where do I start? Well I'd been lobbying for a while to find someone to take the "leap" and pay a visit to Urasawa. And finally found a taker in Captain Jack. (The Missus wasn't sure if She could sit through a 3-4 hour meal, especially if She didn't enjoy it) Arriving at the glitzy corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire via cab, we had to make a quick call to find the elevator leading up to Urasawa, identified with this simple sign.(Sorry repeat photo):

Once upstairs we went down a snaking corridor…in the exact opposite direction of the restaurant! Finally back-tracking we found the modest entrance to a restaurant that I've been waiting to try for several years. And though here I was, I had pretty much compartmentalized all thoughts of Urasawa, so I felt somewhat detached. The Missus kept asking me if I was excited about my visit, and I said just a bit, but not much. Probably a personal defense mechanism to prevent disappointment should I not enjoy myself. When Captain Jack asked me the question, I gave him the same answer..His reply? "Dude, you know it's going to be great….just admit it"

As we walked in at about 6pm, the spartan though tasteful decor and the wonderful maple sushi bar that is sanded daily, attracted me….heck, who am I kidding, I went straight over to this:

Now that I was here, I could let excitement take over. Looking at the "food storage case" I now fully understood the definition of the term "food porn"! The size of the abalone alone drove me nuts, and the toro…let's not go there. There was the most beautifully marbled piece of meat lying on the back counter. Captain Jack and I automatically started plotting…

"Ok, Jack, you jump over the counter, grab the meat, and I'll get a running start…you toss me the meat, and I'll make the stairway!"
"One problem Kirk…"
"What's that?"
"Do you know where the stairway is?"
"Hmmm, that might be a problem"
"And furthermore, you got us lost when we first got off the elevator….."
"Party-pooper!"

And so it was back to reality for our intrepid, and hungry heroes. But oh, how nice reality was! We were seated front and center, just in front of the wooden "stage"(work area would not do it justice), so we could see in minute detail everything Urasawa did.

There was a kind of elegant simplicity to the set-up, everything organized in perfect detail; the squares are square, and circles are perfectly round. They say you can tell alot about the artist by his tools….

The wasabi(the real stuff), yuzu(Sudachi), yuzu grater and brush, and other implements were organized as if sitting for an oil painting.

We were provided Oshibori(hot towels), chopsticks were gracefully placed on holders, and we placed our beverage orders. And soon enough three bowls were carried out by Urasawa, and placed on his block, and rubbing His hands together, Urasawa said, "okay, let's get started."

He bowed slightly and introduced himself as "Hiro", and asked us our names and wrote them down. This was my first hint of how unique and personal this eating experience would be. Could you image Thomas Keller bowing to you and introducing himself as "Tom"? Or Charlie Trotter as "Chuck"? And even remembering your name during a 29+ course meal? At this point, Hiro-san asked us if there was anything we don't eat…..Jack and I couldn't help but laugh and said in unison, "we eat EVERYTHING!"

Enough rambling…let's get to the food. I'm going to break this post into 3 parts, because dinners at Urasawa are broken into 3 segments. First part is the quasi-Kaiseki portion of dishes, which I find quite appropriate since Urasawa is from Kyoto prefecture, well known for their Kaiseki restaurants. The second part is the Sushi portion. And third, I would call the finale, where Hiro-san asks if you would like more of anything, or have requests, and the tea and dessert service. This is quite a challenge for me; I decided not to take notes since I'd be taking photos, so everything is from memory, which isn't too hard, considering that I had a bit of experience with the cuisine, and the dishes were all quite memorable!

Our Kubota Manju Daiginjo($150/bottle) arrived, and was poured for us. I chose Kubota, because I received a bottle for Christmas last year, and found the smooth, mildly sweet qualities went well with anything I ate. So at least for my taste, I thought it would be an excellent sake for this meal. A quick side note; Daiginjo, or Junmai Daiginjo is a classification given to sake whose rice is polished to at least 50%. That means, that of every grain of rice used to create the sake, half of it is discarded. In the case of Kubota, a staggering two-thirds(67%) of the grain is milled! I also thought that Kubota had a nice flavor, there have been a few Daiginjo that I've tried that are almost too smooth……

We started with the dish created from those three bowls above:

A nice refreshing salad of chrysanthemum, shredded crab meat, and some thin slices of mizuna. The dish was quite refreshing, with the sweetness of the crab, and even the mizuna(!) standing out.

The very well known Goma Tofu filled with uni, in a mild dashi flavored "sauce", topped with wasabi, and gold leaf.

Wonderful combination of flavors, the tofu amazingly soft, yet able to hold form. The best way to eat this for me was to use the spoon provided, and break into the tofu(it felt almost like sacrilege, the tofu was so beautiful), and get a bit of the everything into each bite. The gold leaf doesn't matter, it has no taste or nutritional content.

The Uni, Crab, and Shrimp Chawan Mushi(Steamed Egg Custard) topped with Ikura(Salmon Roe):

The Chawan Mushi was perfect in texture, soft, custardy, with hints of sweetness provided by the uni. But for me it was the Ikura that shone. Most of the Ikura that I've had has been really salty and tough. These were like perfect, soft and tender bubbles of brine. I've been told that the freshest, cleanest salt water in the world exists several hundred miles off the South coast of the Big Island, deep in the ocean, the Ikura made me think of how clean and refreshing that water would taste. I mentioned this to Hiro-san, who told me that the Ikura had never been frozen or preserved in any way, and is the absolute freshest he could find, a recurring theme through the whole meal.

The signature Urasawa Sashimi placed on an ice sculpture. Funny story about this; Hiro-san saw my camera, and asked me if I did "internet", to which I replied, "yes, but not Chowhound". When this arrived I turned it, but Hiro-san instructed my Server to turn the plate a certain way. Which I guess was more photogenic, but obscured some of the fish.

The Toro was amazing; melt in your mouth soft. The Mirugai(Geoduck/Giant Clam) was absolutely the best I've had sweet, firm, and crunchy. In fact, I had to ask Hiro-san if it was mirugai! Hidden behind everything is "Red Snapper", I took a bite and immediately knew it wasn't the usual "Red Snapper"(Tai) I'd just eaten. The flesh was firm and almost translucent, and had just the slightest light resistance to each bite. So I asked Hiro-san if this was Ma-dai or Japanese Sea Bream, to which he responded with a small smile, "yes, wild, line caught Ma-dai from Akashi Strait". For those who say there's no difference between Tai and Ma-dai……..

The best I can describe this dish, is a sort of Kiku Dango(chrysanthemum dumpling), filled with shrimp paste, in a mild, sweet dashi broth laced with chrysanthemum.

The outside of the dumpling is solid and a few centimeters thick, and seems to be made with Kanten(agar), slightly sweet in flavor. The interior filling is a mild shrimp paste. Again, if one combines all items together, the textures are excellent, though overall this dish is very mild in flavor.

My favorite dish of the evening….the most luxurious Kani Miso, I've ever had!

No there's no Miso in the dish, Kani Miso is the brains, roe, and other innards of the crab mixed into paste. It is usually eaten in the shell, heated and a raw egg cracked on it. In this case there a dab of crab meat, and uni, making it the most amazing dish! Words cannot describe………

At this point Jack had to visit the facilities…..and we got the first hint of the most traditional service at Urasawa. Our Server, ran in front of Jack to open the sliding door for Jack. When Jack was returning from the restroom, the sound of the restroom door queued Her to Jack's return. She sprinted and arrived in time to open the door to an amazed Jack! same thing happened when the elevator arrived on the second floor, and the bell rang! You arrive back at your table, napkin folded, with a fresh oshibori.

Braised Kyushu Beef. Anyone familiar with Buta No Kakuni(Braised Pork) will understand the rich, slightly sweet-soy flavor.

Upon touch the meat almost melted, and yet retained enough chewiness. As Captain Jack said…'whoa, this is ultimate low and slow braising."

At this point Hiro-san seemed to conjure a lively lobster(Ise Ebi) out of thin air, and started working on it very quickly. It was probably the fastest I've ever seen anyone work with a lobster….in fact the tail meat was still quivering on the board.

A charcoal brazier with broth was placed in front of us.

And a plate of Foie Gras, the most marbled Kobe Beef I've ever seen, and Lobster Meat was placed before us.

Hiro-san asked us to let our Server do the first piece of Foie Gras for us, but both Captain Jack and I understood from the beginning how to proceed. Place the Foie Gras in the broth for the briefest amount of time (count to 3), place in the chilled dipping sauce(stops cooking) and eat. The exterior of the Foie Gras has seized a bit, and when you bite into it, there's the mildest of resistance…and BOOM! Foie Gras goodness, oh my! Same with the beef, we watched the family of four who came in later just cooking the beef to death……somehow it just made me sad. The lobster was really nothing new, I've had lobster sashimi several times, and still do not really enjoy it…flavorless, tough….I'd much rather have Ama-Ebi. After finishing the dish off by cleansing your palate by drinking the broth(watch the heat or you might burn your tongue and risk ruining your taste buds for the rest of your meal).

At this point a dish of Gari arrived:

Marking the approach of the Sushi portion of our meal. Our sake had run out and so we ordered another. This is as good a place to stop as any, I'll conclude with a few photos and some comments, and we'll do part 2 next, either tomorrow or Thursday.

A few comments:

Reservations – Urasawa is by reservation only, there is a maximum of ten customers, and a single sitting per evening. There is a 24 hour cancellation policy, you will be charge $100 if you cancel within 24 hours. I made my reservations in October, for December, there were only 6 customers the whole evening, so it doesn't look as if reservations are too difficult.

Timing – We'd advise early reservations, say around 6pm. It is a long multi-course meal, and starting early will give you a better "spacing". If you arrive later, Hiro-san will work hard to "catch up", but you won't be able to converse with him as much as we did.

Here's Hiro-san jamming the 3 meats for Shabu Shabu:

For customers who arrived at about 730.

Other "Stuff":

– The only water served is Evian, at $8 a bottle.

– For the first portion you will be provided with fresh spoons and other eating implements for courses that need more than chopsticks.

– Anything placed on the counter will be moved from the counter to you by the Server. It's really easy to get anxious……

Part 2 of this post can be found here.

Part 3 of this post can be found here.

(Rail)Road Trip: Los Angeles

December 11, 2006 mmm-yoso Filipino Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Salvadoran Restaurants, Sisig

Over the last 5 months or so, I've been juggling a few ideas in my head. The ideas had come from a variety of sources; on my trip to Portland I truly enjoyed the walking and public transit, so I kept thinking about doing this in large sprawling LA. After all Angelinos always joke, "nobody walks in LA…are you kidding?" Then, there's Andy, the ABC, who will often catch the train down to San Diego to visit his sister. There is a third part, to be revealed at the end of the post. And finally, the fourth part, which was The Missus telling me, "why don't you just get off your butt and do it?"

And so I started doing a bit of planning back in September, and here I was at Santa Fe Depot catching a ride to Union Station on the Surfliner.

I enjoy traveling by train, the Missus and I really enjoyed taking the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Oakland a few years back.

This trip from San Diego to Union Station took about two hours and forty-five minutes, and here I was in LA:

I arrived pretty early, at about 9 am, left Union Station, and headed off in the direction of the hotel I was staying at, the New Otani. Once there, even though it was too early for check-in, I checked my bag with the Bell desk, and started on my way.

You see, I hadn't had breakfast, and my belly was starting to protest.

Unencumbered, I headed up first, and eventually arrived at the Grand Central Market on Broadway.

This bustling public market has about 40 vendors selling a variety of items.

Everything from meat to produce are sold at the various stalls.

You do see an interesting cross section of people at the market, though most of the clientele are of modest means.

I've always enjoyed all the neon signs……and of course, nowhere do the signs shine brighter than over the various food stalls.

The variety is also pretty stunning.

Though I did have something already in mind.

Yes, I'm finally getting around to the food. I decided on a Pork and Cheese Pupusa($2.00), and you could watch your pupusa being formed than made.

I had a seat at the "badly in need of a wiping" counter, and a container of Curtido, that pickled spiced cabbage "slaw". And in a few minutes my Pupusa arrived, which I quickly garnished with a nice amount of curtido and a touch of hot sauce.

First thing I noticed was that the masa(dough) was much lighter and not as dense as the versions I've eaten in San Diego. The filling was fine, though a little light on the cheese, and though the pupusa seemed very light, it was very hard to cut with the plastic knife…in fact I snapped the first one in half! The curtido was on the mild side, crisp, and did not have a strong pickled flavor, though it was quite refreshing.

Now properly invigorated, I stepped back out on gritty, noisy Broadway, and was on my way….

Grand Central Market
317 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Open Daily 9am to 6pm

I decided that since it was still rather early, I'd walk back down to Mitsuwa Market and check out what was going on. There is one building located in that "dead area" between Broadway and Little Tokyo on Main Street.

On every trip into the area, the Linda Lea Theatre has a strange pull on me. I've always passed by, thinking that it might be gone, but it's always been there. From what I've read, the building was built in the 1920's, and in the 60's became a Japanese movie house. It has been closed since the 1980's, and reminds me of one of those sad scenes of sentimental, aged disrepair we often see in movies. After I arrived home, I found this article, and it seems things are looking up. I hope so.

I walked past the Higashi Honganji on Third Street:

I crossed the street and into the monolithic Little Tokyo Shopping Center.

And was quite surprised at how quite and almost empty the entire shopping center was, at 11am in the morning!

I decided to walk on over to Chinatown, on the way through Honda Plaza I saw a long line of people. Geez, it was like they were waiting for the second coming of Elvis or somethin'.

But no, they were in line waiting to get into Sushi Gen, at 11am!

As I was walking through El Pueblo Park, I took a short side trip to the Chinese American Museum, located in the historic Garnier Building in El Pueblo Park.

This used to be the "center" of old Chinatown in Los Angeles. Chinatown was moved to make way for Union Station and the 101 Freeway.

Here's a photo of the Nativity Scene in Plaza de Los Angeles.

I wandered up Spring Street…

And than over to Broadway. Here's the obligatory photo of the Chinese Gateway.

About this time I started getting a bit hungry, so I started through all the usual suspects Empress Pavillion, Mandarin Deli……..but decided on something else. A few weeks ago Peter from Sandwich Emporium, mentioned a Filipino Restaurant, Asian Noodles, so I thought I'd give them a try.

Located on the far South end of Chinatown on Spring Street, Asian Noodles is a clean, well lit, and very modern in appearance. Signatures of Brian Viloria, Jasmine Trias, and many others decorate one of the walls in the restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, I noticed that the portions looked to be pretty large, and since I was on my own I needed something I could finish, and really didn't want any Mami – the Filipino Noodle soup. Now added to this was that Creen's posts on Tribu Grill, had sent me over the deep end, I decided to order the Sisig($9.95):

First thing I noticed was that this wasn't like most of the Sisig in San Diego, which tends to use left over Lechon Kawali(stewed than fried pork belly). This was without a doubt pork head, and ummm "parts". The meat was chopped and stir fried with vinegar, chilies, garlic, and other spices, onions are added, and it's served on a sizzling plate with some lemon. The flavor was on the gamier side, but not bitter, and there are a few "crunchies", but the flavor is not bad. I could've used a stronger vinegar flavor, but this dish wasn't as oily or salty as Sisig tends to be. I'd eat here again, and though the Manager is quite rude and a bit surly, the Wait Staff were very nice, especially after they saw me plow through this and a full order of rice($1.50), in about 15 minutes.

On the menu the Asian Noodles in National City was mentioned, but the menus share only a few similarities. The menu at Asian Noodles also contains a few dishes like Bicol Express that are not commonly served at the Filipino restaurants that I've been to.

Asian Noodles
643 N Spring St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Open Mon-Wed 11am-930pm
Thurs-Sun 11am-10pm

While finishing up lunch, my partner in crime for this trip, Captain Jack of San Diego Restaurant Reviews called me on my cell. You see I had made reservations for dinner at a tiny little restaurant called:

I did take a few photos, but I don't know if anyone's interested…….

Cheap, quick dinners at home

December 10, 2006 Cathy Cooking, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. It’s just Cathy blogging today.

Last week, Ralph’s, a local grocery store, had a few items for sale. Brisket was on sale for $1.30/pound. A slab of beef ribs went for $1 a pound, asparagus, carrots, sweet potatoes and some prepackaged organic lettuce was marked down to $2 and the large Macaroni and Cheese container from Stouffer’s was priced the same as the small container. OK, dinner… and then some.

The Mister put a dry rub on the brisket. (He mixed garlic powder with Montreal Seasoning) and then put wood chips (after soaking in water) on the hot side of the grill (in foil) and left the meat on the indirect heat side of the grill…for about two and a half hours-when the fat on top started to caramelize-

He put the vegetables in foil and topped with butter and Herbes de Provence and placed on the indirect heat side of the grill. That was a meal..and sandwiches for a few days.

The brisket was moist and pretty tender.

The next day, he put the same dry rub on about 4 pounds of the beef ribs and grilled for about 20 minutes on each side-until the flames got as tall as me- and we made the Stouffer’s Mac and Cheese and the salad… Altogether we spent less than $10 and got at least five meals. I enjoy shopping only for sale items and seeing what kind of meal can be made…a little game.

and, for those who asked:

The smoked turkey, made on Sunday after Thanksgiving by The Mister…its wonderfully juicy and not too smokey, just right! This was one of those generic 16 lbs or less turkeys, frozen for $4 at Vons. Turned out to be the best meal(s) of all.

Road Trip-Las Vegas (Mad Greek)

December 9, 2006 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Greek Food, Las Vegas, Nevada, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is again on a short road trip. Cathy was on one also and here is what she ate on her way home.

Hello again. If you’ve driven to Las Vegas, you’ve seen the signage on the I-15: (Notice there is no "The" in the name of the place…there is a restaurant in Stanton, CA called "The mad Greek". They are not affiliated)

Hmm, recalling what I have said…"don’t be afraid to stop someplace that has been there forever"…"there’s a reason"…

OK…kinda old looking signs on old semi-trucks…

oooh, and the kitschy-est looking place…kind of, um, ever…

Well, there is truck parking, and there were trucks. Therefore following the logic of eating where the Mailman eats and stretching that logic to eating where Truckers eat…combined with definite recommendations from Mr. G, a good friend who always stops here, along with illtaketwoplease, well..we had to stop.

Mad Greek is in Baker, on Interstate 15, home of the World’s Tallest Thermometer, about 75 minutes from Las Vegas and seems to have been there forever…in the middle of the desert… It isn’t just a restaurant that has Greek food, its decorated like its in Greece Greek restaurant, in a kind of tacky neighborhood (way too many silk flowers and reproduction statues) and they also have burgers and Mexican food, and shakes. The decor is, well, Greek. There is a sign, near the coffee machine offering "Tourist Help" in various languages: American, English (accent), Greek (ancient and modern), Arabic, Hebrew (weekends only), Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Korean (by phone), French, Italian, Spanish, Mexican, Turkish and Russian.

You walk in, order, pay, and food is brought to your table, or, if you get a shake, your number is called when it is done and you pick it up at the shake counter.

The shakes ($4.25 each)…Mine was strawberry and Ms. T’s was a date shake. She said the taste of Hers reminded her of her childhood date shakes, she was quite happy with it. My strawberry shake tasted like it was made with fresh strawberries and even had seeds and was not too sweet. The umbrella decorations were a nice touch. We were getting breakfast, and had ordered coffee also. It’s Seattle’s Best, which is a company owned by Starbucks, and its *good* coffee. We tried the ever popular gyros sandwich and a gyros omelet. Each platter was about $8 and was made fresh, with tomatoes, onions, lettuce in the gyros sandwich (Tzatziki, with dill, on the side). The omelet was made with 3 eggs, had a *lot* of gyros, sauteed tomatoes, onions and mushrooms as well as feta inside, and feta on the top, as you can see..and served with a slab o’ hash browns, which were OK, but did not send me. Here is a cross section view of the inside of the omelet:

As we were leaving, I saw these two stands near the door, with coupons. We could have stopped here on our way to Vegas, and got some even better deals, maybe…Next year when I am driving here with The Mister, we will stop here first.

Mad Greek, Baker California (760) 733-4354

The Alien Fresh Jerky store was closed, or I would have stopped there you know. The outside signs said they sold beef, turkey, clam and alligator jerky…and had samples available…oh yes, next time, definitely.

Road Trip-Las Vegas (I found my thrill…)

December 8, 2006 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Las Vegas, Nevada, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Hi. I wrote this post a little ahead of time and Kirk and I were posting by alternating days of our road trips. I can't possibly follow the Missus' wonderful post from yesterday with anything as creative and beautiful. She truly is so talented with writing and projecting such beautiful imagery, I felt I was in China living Her life with Her. I think we all agree that She has a true gift, and look forward to seeing more of Her stories.

mmm-yoso actually is on another short vacation right now, and Cathy was on one recently, too. Both of us have been blogging, alternating days. Look and see what Cathy ate and did while she was out of town for a few days.

Hi. So, all of you know that Kirk and I blog about where we eat, and what we like … and after a while you have probably-sort of- figured out that mostly we go to places the Locals like.

So, this is Las Vegas. Its open 24/7. People have to work 24/7. It seems a lot of restaurants are open 24 hours. Where oh where is there a place that has good food that is not 'fancy schmancy"? Where do the Locals, the people who work in the casinos, eat? Who should I ask?? Ahhhh, Mr. Bally, of course (my brother, pay attention).

Well, first place Mr. Bally answers to my query is "Blueberry Hill". There are lots of locations all over town. I've seen them when driving on side streets, trying to avoid The Strip. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner anytime you want it. Its sort of a Coco's/Carrow's/Big Boy/Denny's/Jimmy's..a Family type place (Serving Las Vegas since 1987)…booths, nice waitresses who are friendly and would like to get to know you, striking up conversations. Just a good, home-like feeling.

What a menu! Two sided and detailed…

There is a list of "Side Order" prices on the table, and an explanation of why you hear a buzzer every so often (It's to remind the Employees to wash their hands-I do so love sanitation) and the Senior menu, which I find myself looking longingly at sometimes in some places where I would like to have a smaller portion.

..and pay less…I have found myself sometimes saying to The Mister "look, honey, in only x years, we'll be able to order off of this menu"… yes, this is what it comes to…from being irritated how many times I have gotten carded for "appearing to be under the age of 30" to waiting to be 55 and getting less expensive meals…

ANYHOW, I digressed. Sorry… So, we ordered some pretty neat stuff (it was an early breakfast).

Some *great* basic French Toast, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, great flavor, with some breakfast sausages (the good ones, with skin).

The 1/2 lb 100% Angus burger, cooked medium rare, the way I like it (looks burned in photo, but was nice and juicy and tasty)and poached eggs (one egg was 'misplaced' upon delivery and promptly replaced) and oh, those pancakes…light, fluffy, buttery tasting. Although Mr. Bally had recommended the waffles, I was not disappointed with these flapjacks. The coffee was good and kept constantly refilled.

Look closely at the menu- the Chicken fried steak is made with Angus beef…the other steaks are choice..and the prices are not at all outrageous.

The food here is fresh, fast, inexpensive, and you can get whatever you want whenever you want. Technically a local chain, family owned and operated.

Blueberry Hill -Multiple Locations in Las Vegas and Henderson. Ask your Hotel Concierge for the closest location (we went to the one at Green Valley and Sunset)

Ah…so there has been a little speculation as to why I am in las Vegas-and without The Mister- well, here is a small clue.

Hmm, Santa dressed like a Cowboy, and the words "Cowboy Christmas"…"The Official Gift Show of the Wrangler National Finals..what is that??? What is Cathy doing in Las Vegas???

And…was that it…oh, "I found my Thrill on Blueberry Hill"…the song…OK, kinda lame but matching the post…or is there more???

OH…Cathy said 'Girls Weekend Out'…I get it- Cowboys! Strong, athletic, muscular…ummm….thrill…

The National Finals Rodeo is a ten day competition of the top 15 contestants from the regular season of each event (bare back riding, team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding) competing in their event daily and the best of the best in each category after ten days walks away with some hefty prize money and the National Champion title.

Yes, the 5th day of national Finals Rodeo..on the Wrangler "Dare to Wear Pink" night. NFR and PRCA gave a check for $1 million dollars for Breast Cancer Research and the Cowboys, Cowgirls and horses all wore pink during the Competition…as did the opening act, Charlie Daniels.

Before the Rodeo started, you could mill around outside, listening to music and visiting Sponsors displays (for some reason, the Jack Daniels and Coors tents were far more crowded than the Dodge truck display) …

and for the Gentlemen out there, the Copenhagen Smokeless Tobacco Stage…

Yes, I go to National Finals Rodeo every year…and eat in Las Vegas…

The last day, when awards (the coolest belt buckles ever) (along with cash prizes) are handed out is today, Saturday (December 9)…and will be shown on ESPN2 at 6 p.m.

Road Trip: Dezhou Pa Ji from 101 Noodle Express – Alhambra(LA)

December 7, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Two days ago, JosephE wrote a comment on our post on Mei Jia Deli with the idea of letting the Missus do Her own post. What a great idea! And I think we found the perfect subject – Dezhou Chicken from 101 Noodle Express. Fasten your seatbelts, here it comes………Heeeere’s the Missus!

Driving West on Valley Boulevard after lunch at Mei Jia, shaved ice in hand, I suddenly spotted the sign "Shan Dong Dezhou Pa Ji", which instantly brought back memories of growing up in QingDao, Shan Dong, China.

Back when I was a little kid, we were all pretty poor, according to America standards at least. But we didn’t know any better since everybody had the same things, which were not much. We were just little kids running around naive and happy. Head over heels about Andy Lau, The Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, and stuff like that.

The refrigerator didn’t become a household item until about the mid 1990’s. Before that, we all needed to stop by the open-air market daily. Streets were blocked up for vendors to set up their stands, one next to another, running over several blocks. Most of what was sold was homegrown or homemade, and each vendor specialized in only one thing, either one type of vegetable, or fresh made tofu, or some kind of fruit. Bargaining is not only to be expected, it is required, beyond just a game, it is an art of its own. It is common for people to spend 5 minutes to bargain down an item saving just 5 cents and walk away with a bunch of green onions worth about 12 cents. Such a victory always brought great joy.

There are also livestock, mostly live chickens, cooped up in a pen, ready to be picked up. For a young man trying to "wow" a perspective girl’s family, nothing is better than arriving with a big, live rooster in hand, upside down bound up around the feet. It always brings a smile from the future in-law’s face. No wonder avian flu often started in Asia! Then again, I never got any food borne disease when I was growing up, no E-coli, no listeria, no hepatitis. I was as healthy as a country bumpkin should be, right along the "growth curve" which we didn’t have in China back then.

On the other hand, everything is always fresh. Fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh killed pork hanging upside down with a seal of approval of blue ink promptly displayed. The Butcher’s greasy apron, the vegetable sellers muddy hand identified the preferred vendors. Meals are prepared daily, my Grandmother would get up before everyone else to prepare breakfast, then lunch and dinner while working full time as a School Principle.

There were Government grocery stores, selling mostly soy sauce, vinegar, or oil, and other rationed items. One of my Aunt’s worked in one of those 7-11 sized stores. She always smelled like a marinade mixture of soy sauce and vinegar. When in season, there would be piles of tomatoes, napa cabbage, or blue crab running sideways along sidewalk all directions at the same time, in that situation, my Aunt would spend most of her time running after those crabs than really selling them. And nothing is more entertaining to a kid with not much toys ( I was not deprived as a child though, I have everything everyone else did if not more, we were considered pretty well to do in the neighborhood).

Well back to this Dezhou Chicken thing. I really don’t know where Dezhou is or why this chicken is so famous. The only thing I know is that it tasted so good, and I remember exactly where the little shop was that we usually got the chicken from. It was always a special treat, a once or twice a year type of thing. Chicken was rare and expensive back then.

OK, the little shop that sold this chicken was located at the beginning of the market which was right down the hill from where my Grandmother’s house was. Tucked behind the vegetable vendor, in a dark little room, the chicken was sold by this dark little man, after you ordered, he would bring out one of the dark little chickens soaked forever in the dark broth in a big iron pot behind him, and hand it to you. The chicken was small, not like the enhanced double D in the States, more like A and a half. The most delicious part are the legs. The bone will slide right off the meat. The meat is dark and full of 5 spice, soy sauce, sugar and wine flavors. The meat is not mushy and tasting like dead meat. It is firm and has a slight chew to it. A family of 10 usually will share one chicken and I often dreamt of having one all to myself. My own neck to knaw on.

Since I moved to States and I haven’t seen nor thought about this chicken for more than 15 years. Now you see how excited I was when I saw this sign.

My chance at last. A good husband as Kirk is, he made an immediate U-turn in the middle of the busy Valley Blvd ( not all that unusual in Alhambra). We had to buy a chicken and they’d better not run out of it, as it was all I was thinking about when I walked into the restaurant. It was a typical, actually a much cleaner eatery, than the norm in the San Gabriel Valley. I was so excited I started ordering in English and the Girl gave me a baffled look. I had to slow down and order in Chinese. It was $8.70 for half a chicken ( still not cheap), for a contorted, dead yogi style half chicken in a Styrofoam container. By the way, the contortion is part of the style. We Chinese know how to maximize space, like twisting the chicken into little balls or squeezing 1 billion people along the east side of a Country.

Back to this chicken, the color is much lighter, the chicken is bigger than a whole chicken was in China, and the taste, while pretty good was much lighter than I remembered. The flavor was not as condensed or as hearty. Still, it was very good. Kirk, on the other hand, didn’t think much of it and I don’t blame him. If I never had this kind of chicken, I probably come to the same conclusion.

In conclusion, I was disappointed in the chicken, but that didn’t dampen my spirit at all. I became wordy and giddy, called my Mom and I could tell she was brought back to those days in China as well. Maybe it is not the chicken I was looking for. Maybe it is something else, like the feeling of having nothing, but still desiring nothing, extremely content, always feeling like the richest kid on the block since I had everything I needed or knew to desire. No desire, therefore no disappointment.

Now go and find your Dezhou Chicken!

101 Noodle Express
1408 E. Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA

Road Trip-Las Vegas: (Wynn Buffet)

December 6, 2006 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, Nevada, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is out of town, and apparently eating all she can. Read and live vicariously.

Hello again. Still in Vegas, and eating from recommendations of friends. Mr. C, who I know from my job, and I had lunch at Lucky Seafood a couple of weeks ago…yes, it was the first time I was eating pho with only one hand because of the cast still being on up to my shoulder….anyhow, Mr. C works for a company in San Diego that sends him out to Las Vegas for weeks at a time and he *has* tried every buffet out there. I asked him what was the best and he immediately replied-"The Wynn"..at at lunch, when its cheaper..and it isn’t cheap… $22 each, but, you get what you pay for, we wanted great food, and we got *great* food…I only wish I could eat like this all the time. (The Buffet (that’s what its called, original, eh?) is $34 for dinner and $38 on weekends).

The first plate, but I thought the most creatively loaded of all my photographs…First the salads are pre-mixed and served in those small glasses-so creative..You might notice the silverware and that the serving plates are asymmetrically shaped..all just kind of beautiful. Oh, the food- there is a cheese tray (the blue and goat cheeses were*excellent*, the cheddar was mild) then a bit of everything. The albacore tuna was a overdone, and probably not meant to be, and the only non-perfect item out there… the mahi mahi was exquisite. The prime rib of beef from the carving station was sooo tender and flavorful, as was the rack of lamb. The carrots were not mushy and cooked just right in a buttery herb-ed sauce ..the zucchini were so flavorful and the green beans with chopped tomatoes and still crispy almond slices were as as fresh tasting as I got from my garden this year. The asparagus was very, very good, stir fried and still slightly crispy.

Here is my appetizer plate, with smoked salmon (almost candied..), smoked trout, an excellent potato roll and a different salad. There selection of 5 different salads was overwhelming I got one made with white anchovies , roasted yellow pepper strips and another with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and chopped olives.

OK, here are photos of the various stations: smoked trout, anchovies, capers chopped onions…all to go with the nice fresh bagels.

More of the smoked salmon/cream cheese/bagel topping area, which I used more as my appetizer area..

Oh and the sushi area.

The Italian foods area was quite crowded, so no photographs, but I liked the food there best. Kobe beef meatballs…oh my, they were so good! I suppose the sauce helped, and it was light and complimented/did not overpower the meat flavor…I got this photo of the Asian stir fry area…not exciting to look at, but extremely tasty with use of many spices. It was very un-Americanized.

Oh yes, the chilled shrimp-perfectly cooked, and served with superb cocktail sauce and tartar sauce too…both made fresh at the restaurant.

Oh, there were desserts..and you know I am *not* at all a sweets eater…

They make the eclairs fresh..with real custard..eggy and still warm custard…

some desserts were served on individual plates..flan, sweet potato pie, chocolate peanut butter something (*dark* chocolate, people…dark chocolate)…and the strawberry cake, lemon bar and something else…oh it doesn’t matter..

My *absolute* favorite…

The Floating Island..oh yes, a homemade marshmallow, with a buttery caramel sauce, floating on a vanilla sauce and topped with toasted chopped hazel nuts.

We ate so much more and I guess I was trying to take photographs and waiting for areas to be less crowded but areas were with people and I don’t take photos of people…All of the food was excellent and so fresh, Mr. C gave me a great lead on a wonderful buffet. Thanks Mr. C!

The Buffet at the Wynn Hotel Click here for website

Road Trip: Mei Jia Deli – San Gabriel(LA)

December 5, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

*** Mei Jia Deli has since closed……

On this short road trip, we decided to do something different. Instead of making plans for meals (other than Komasa), we decided to just drive and walk around and see what caught our fancy. So, after sushi at Komasa and driving around, we parked our car on Valley just West of San Gabriel Boulevard, and got out to stretch our legs. Somehow, out of all of the restaurants(and there are hundreds of them), Mei Jia Deli caught the Missus’s eye. Actually the Chinese sign with Tianjin got the attention of the Missus. As we approached the restaurant, the Missus brightened, and kept repeating "oh, oh, Jian Bing Guo Zi, oh, oh Jian Bing Guo Zi". She literally sprinted into the restaurant and started up a conversation with the Waitress.

Unfortunately, Jian Bing Guo Zi was only sold between 8am and 2pm, but the Waitress, a very chatty lady said "it is better than what you get in Beijing", which practically made the Missus swoon. You see, the Missus has fond memories of getting up in the morning and running to the corner to buy hot Jian Bing Guo Zi while living in Beijing. I could just see the wave of nostalgia cresting…….As we walked back to the car, I could see a smile on the Missus’s face. Upon inquiry She told me, "I haven’t heard Beijing and Tianjin accents like that in years!" I swear that I could hear the Missus mumbling "Jian Bing Guo Zi" in Her sleep.

The next afternoon, after checking out the Dog Show we headed over to Mei Jia Deli, which was packed with a very loud, boisterous, and cantankerous group. It really doesn’t take much to fill tiny Mei Jia Deli, there are only 9 tables in the whole restaurant, and four of them had been placed together for a large group. We ended up with a small "spare" table, which usually sees duty as the condiment bar. You can see it in the photo from another visit, good old table number 7. If you’re expecting a bright, clean, and shiny restaurant…well this ain’t it! The floors looked like they haven’t been mopped in a while, the tables and the menus are a decidedly "San Gabriel sticky".

After looking over the menu, a portion of which is only in Chinese, the Missus starting ordering. When She ordered the Guo Ba(called "rice crust", but it doesn’t resemble rice crust in the least bit) the Waitress told Her not to order it. She basically did the "you no like that" thing, She did say the she was "from Beijing and she even hates the dish, and many Chinese customers end up ordering it, and not eating it." I think that She knew that the Missus wasn’t from Tianjin by her accent, and thought we, and especially me, the only non-Chinese in the restaurant would not enjoy the dish.

Of course we got the Jian Bing Guo Zi($2.99). The Missus had spoken on length about Jian Bing Guo Zi, about how the thin crepe/pancake batter is spread on a special iron, or sometimes the top of a barrel, and egg is cracked on top; it is important to note that you should see the separation of white and yolk. A sauce is then smeared on the egg covered batter, some Youtiao(fried cruller) is placed on the crepe, and it is folded up, not unlike a burrito of sorts.

I took a bite, and was totally unimpressed. I looked over to the Missus, who said, "this isn’t very good", the crepe had no taste, just a slight sour flavor, and was not soft and fluffy, the Youtiao was mushy, overall not very good. The bean sauce smeared on the Jian Bing Guo Zi just made it more soggy…….

The Gou Bu Li Bao Zi ("Stuffed buns that dogs are not interested in" – $5.00). I’m sure there’s a story behind the name.

We ordered the Pork, Egg, and Shrimp version, and while the filling was excellent, with large pieces of shrimp, and cloud ears fungus adding a nice crunch, the buns themselves were tough. I noticed that the buns had not been steamed correctly, heat had been allowed to escape making the dough tough and rubbery, not soft and fluffy. When I mentioned this to the Missus, She nodded in agreement, and asked, "How did you get to be so picky". To which I answered, "guess……" Having a Wife and Mother In Law from Shandong will make you that way.

Fennel and Pork Dumplings(actually Dill – $5.00 for 12):

We both thought these were excellent. The wrappers had just the perfect amount of pull and chewiness, probably the best I’ve had in a restaurant. The filling, while not having much meat, was perfect in quantity. I’ve had this type of dumpling before that had a large amount of filling, and the taste of dill just overpowered everything. In this case, the amount of filling was perfect for this type of Jiaozhi. Perfect with a splash of Black Vinegar.

Lamb in Brown Sauce with Sesame Cake($13.99), which is I think is the most expensive item on the menu:

This was brought out in the cast iron wok it was cooked in, the lamb flavor, though on the mild side was good, and the flavoring was just about perfect. Everything was in perfect balance, from the amount of cumin to the slight "heat", all ingredients worked in harmony. I was really jonesing for a bowl of rice…but we are talking about Northern Chinese Food here. Which brings me to the teeth shattering, dry, flavorless Sesame Cake, definitely not my cup of tea. For consolation, all the Missus could say was, "you should have this in China, it’s even harder and drier."

The waitress brought us 2 bowls of Xiao Mi Zhou(Millet Porridge – Free, if you want a BIG bowl it’s 50 cents). We had noticed that the two really loud women on the table next to us had only ordered about 6 bucks worth of food, but were helping themselves to the porridge. They would just stand up, brush past us, walk behind the counter to the pot and help themselves. When the Waitress brought them new bowls of porridge, they just poured off what was in the fresh bowl into their bowls, and dump the bowls on the counter. All told, each one of them had 4 bowls a piece, and that was only while we were there. They had been eating before we arrived, and were still eating when we left.

After taking a sip the Missus put Her spoon down, and never picked it back up. The porridge has a texture like runny-grits, and has no flavor at all. The Missus told me that this was a more refined version of Millet Porridge, most times the millet hasn’t been processed and there are hulls in the porridge. The version She grew up eating had more of a nutty flavor, probably because it hadn’t been processed as much as this.

Still, we had enjoyed our meal, and decided to go back the next morning. This time we lucked out, it was Sunday morning, and there were a few open spaces in the "parking lot from hell" that Mei Jia Deli shares with 3 other restaurants.

So having been seated, the Missus proceeded to order the Guo Ba Cai($2.50), and again the Waitress told Her not to order it. But this time the Missus stood firm, with the help of the 4 people on the next table who yelled out "let her have the Guo Ba Cai". They were eating Guo Ba Cai, and I’m sure the Waitress didn’t try and dissuade them from ordering it.

Looks interesting, doesn’t it? This concoction uses the crepe portion of the Jian Bing Guo Zi, cut into strips and mixed into a thick, brown, gooey gravy. The dish is topped with cilantro, chili paste, and fermented tofu. And it’s delici-yoso!!! The dish hits all of the sour-salty-spicy notes, and is very hearty. Caution, it is also quite salty, but we loved it, to the amusement of our Waitress.

More Dumplings (6 Chive and Pork, 6 Cabbage and Pork – $4.50):

The Missus asked for mixed dumplings, and they arrived steaming. The dumpling wrappers were excellent, just as those we had yesterday. This Jiaozhi fell far short in the filling department. The Pork and Chive dumplings were bland, with not enough chive, and tasteless pork. The same bland profile for the pork and cabbage dumplings as well.

Sesame Cake with Beef($2.50).

I thought that perhaps the presence of 5 spice beef would moisten the Sesame Cake, boy was I wrong. I almost lost several teeth. Still, can you believe breakfast for 10 bucks, in a restaurant?

We’ll most definitely return to Mei Jia Deli, there are a few more items we’d like to try. The place can be a bit intimidating, the people can be loud, abrasive, rude, and aggressive, and we’re talking about the customers! The Waitresses(there are two) are nice considering the circumstances. Most of the clientele have Tianjin or Beijing accents according to the Missus, and Mandarin is spoken exclusively. If you’re able to find an unoccupied space in the parking lot during most hours, give yourself a pat on the back, and go buy a lottery ticket!

Mei Jia Deli
534 East Valley Blvd. #8
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Road Trip-Las Vegas! (Green Valley Ranch Buffet)

December 4, 2006 Cathy Buffets, Las Vegas, Nevada, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

Hi, Cathy here, on an iBook, in an obscure hotel in Las Vegas, with plans for something exciting tomorrow night.

I’m blogging what I ate, and then some…I left San Diego in the wind this morning..and stopped in Baker, to view the World’s largest Thermometer (and get a cup of coffee at Starbucks).

Dinner was at "Feast", the buffet inside Green Valley Ranch Casinos Resort and Spa. $17..and worth it. The Buffet was suggested by Mr. brother, hereafter referred to as "Mr. Bally"who, along with a few others, have made some suggestions as to where I should try to eat while here. Mostly photos…limited descriptions for now..I have to take a nap!…and no photo of the crab legs, chilled shrimp or Mongolian BBQ… I don’t take photos of people…smoked salmon, giant caperberries, fennel chicken salad…there is a lettuce part of the salad bar also…this was *far* more fun. My salad plate(s)..the carving station selections, well some of them anyhow…The Asian food section offered a wide variety of some great tasting food…Then the Italian section…That sauce in the back to the left (not the meatballs) was artichokes, mushrooms and olives…and soooooo goood!
The a sample of desserts:
Ah, so what am I doing here???Well, there is this competition…more tomorrow.
Green Valley Ranch www.greenvalleyranchresort.com

Quick Weekend in Los Angeles

December 3, 2006 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi, yoso-silly

Whew, just got in from a short trip to Los Angeles. Here are just a few photos of places I've posted on before.

Of course the Missus's favorite little Sushi Bar is Sushi Komasa.

**** Sushi Komasa has closed

The sushi at Komasa, though not spectacular, has always been consistently good, and is reasonably priced.

On this trip, the Hamachi(Yellowtail) was excellent, a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth tender. The Aji(Spanish Mackerel), was also good.

So tonight we had Ankimo, Maguro, Binnaga(Albacore), Hamachi, Aji, Hirame, Tai(Snapper), Negi-Hama, and Salmon Skin Roll, with Hot Tea, the bill came out to about $65. Not bad at all. You can check out previous posts for more info.

Sushi Komasa
352 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA
213-680-1792

Open Tuesday-Sunday 530pm – 11pm

Since we stayed in Torrance, we had to check out the Torrance Saturday Farmers' Market.

As I noted on my previous post, we used to make the 90 mile round trip to the TFM almost every Saturday when we lived in LA.

We loved the selection, and the low-key atmosphere. And were pleased to see things have not changed. There was still a wonderful selection of produce.

And lots of samples.

Tomatoes seem to be really popular today.

And of course the flowers.

And even Killer Snails!!!

One thing we've noticed is that the Food Court has sure expanded. Though we didn't have a chance to sample the offerings, I took a few photos.

Torrance Sat CFM
Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw
Sat, 8A-1P

I know, I know, you're saying, "Reruns, again?" Well stay tuned, I'll have some new posts on a few Los Angeles restaurant, including TianJin and ShenYang cuisine, and other stuff……

And as a great bonus, Cathy's also taking a road trip as well! So you'll be hearing from Her as well.

So why were we in LA? Well, maybe this helps:

Sorry, just being a bit silly. Here's the reason:

Yes, we attended the AKC National Championship. Over 3000 dogs were included in this years show. We'd never attended one of these, and thought this was a great opportunity.

Along with the P-B-G-V(Petit Basset Griffon Verdeen – won the hound group), the Glen of Imaal Terrier, Great Pyrenees, and Dandy Dinmont, we've always loved Havanese. And this was a great chance to check them out.

Hands down, one of our two favorite events was the Agility Invitational.

And it's not just the sporting dogs that compete, some of the biggest cheers were for some of the smaller breeds, like this Bichon Frise:

There were no losers…….

The other event we enjoyed was called "Meet the Breed", where every breed was represented and had a booth. We got to speak to alot of veteran dog owners/experts regarding the various attributes of specific breeds.

Of course there was the show.

As much as we enjoyed the "show" and prejudging portion, we enjoyed other aspects of the show more. Still, it was a great fun!