Since we were spending two weeks in Paris, the Missus decided that She wanted to get Her hair done. So, after doing a bit of research She found a place in 10th Arrondissement. So, we headed off, up Rue du Temple past Place de la République.
Crossing over to the 10th, which we were not familiar with. There seemed to be a real "local" vibe to the area.
I've seen dog walkers, but this woman carted pooches around…..not sure what this is called? Kinda cute though.
We found the salon without much of a problem. While the Missus was having Her hair done, I decided to take a walk around the area and find a place to grab a cup of coffee.
There was quite a bit of interesting street art in the area. There was a place named Holybelly that was the subject of one of the Earful Tower's Podcasts and since it was in the 10th, I thought I'd walk over to check the place out. Hole smokes was the place busy, with a line waiting to get in.
I had done a bit of research the night before and did have a coffee shop on my list of places to check out.
This one was on the other side of Canal Saint Martin.
Which by the way, I had never visited in all our trips to Paris. Go figure.
It was a nice, mild, winter day, so the walk was quite pleasant.
Right across Canal Saint-Martin, down Rue de la Grange aux Belles is a location of specialty roaster Ten Belles, which I believe has three shops in Paris.
The folks working were quite friendly. I tried to order an Americano in French, but the girl laughed and started talking to me in English and told me "good try"!
And it was a decent Americano to boot.
I took a seat at an empty table and just had a nice relaxing moment. A few minutes later, I saw the gentleman on a small single table next to me greet a woman. Unfortunately, he had no room, so I scooted over and made the hand signs to trade tables with him and we switched. He made sure to walk over after and shake my hand, giving me a nice, warm "merci beaucoup"! As I left the couple both waved goodbye to me. Such nice folks….
Ten Belles – Paris 10
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles
75010 Paris, France
As I strolled back down along the canal, who should I see but the Missus walking up to meet me!
It was still fairly early, we decided to grab a bite to eat. Both the Missus and I had heard and read about the chain of Crepe shops in Paris that were highly recommended; Breizh Cafe. So many folks mentioned this place and they have several shops in Paris, Lyon, and even one in Tokyo if I recall. The Marias location on Rue Vieille-du-Temple is very popular, but we easily got a table.
So Breizh Cafe specializes in crepes from Brittany, that would be buckwheat "galettes". We aren't into overly sweet main sweet dishes for breakfast-lunch-brunch, so we both went with savory galettes.
The Missus got the Complete Champignons, which included jambon, Comté, and a sunny side up egg.
I got the Complete, which is jambon, egg, and comté.
Both the Missus and I were quite underwhelmed. The food lacked seasoning, the galettes were bland and this just wasn't too our taste. Perhaps galettes aren't our thing?
At least the people watching was fun.
Breizh Café
109 Rue Vieille-du-Temple
75003 Paris, France
We've run into folks who've been to Briezh and they echo our opinion. And the owner of Hola Paris told me that buckwheat galettes can tend to be on the bland-dry side as well. So, like I said, perhaps galettes aren't our kind of thing. But we're glad we tried them and will again if we're in Brittany.
We had a nice walk to our last stop before heading back to the apartment.
During a previous visit to Paris, we dropped by Edwart Chocolatier. And even though we had a good amount of chocolate on hand from other places we visited earlier during the trip, the Missus wanted to add to Her collection.
And after a few samples, the Missus added to Her ever growing chocolate collection.
Edwart Chocolatier
17 Rue Vieille-du-Temple
75004 Paris
I'm guessing Edwart is now a regular stop on our visits.
We'd headed back to the apartment for a break before doing a bit more exploring and heading to one of favorite restaurants in Paris for dinner.
Thanks for stopping by!
Choices of pizza, Asian fusion, poke, a taco shop and Greek/Mediterranean (as well as a massage parlor)…what a unique mall area with plenty of parking.
We decided on Viktor's after checking out menus on the windows of all the businesses.
Walk up, order and pay. Grab your beverages. Your name is called out when everything is ready.
For this initial visit, we chose to share an Ultimate Salad ($14.95). A full serving of Gyros and a full serving of Victor's chicken on top of a Greek Salad. Wow! Plenty of food to share. A standard Greek salad-Romaine, bell peppers, onion, tomato, Feta and Greek olives, topped with a house made VK dressing. The marinated chicken was moist and grilled with a nice char. The beef and lamb gyros was shaved from the vertical rotisserie spit and very good. 
I also ordered this "Feta Melt" from the starter menu ($6.25) and wow-this was great. Feta, red onion, bell peppers, tomatoes on a toasted pita. 
A great bite of flavors and texture. Even though served folded, as above, eating the pita 'open faced' seemed proper.
Then again, the interior decor is unique and focused on types of 'money'.
Walk up, order and pay. You are given a number and find a seat. 
Here is a close up of the menu.
"The Mess" ($9.10) Eggs, cheese, hash browns, bell pepper, onion, ham, bacon, sausage and toast. Everything in every bite. A lot of food, a lot of flavor, a lot of texture. Should be enough for anyone.
Chili Cheese omelette ($8.90) Three eggs filled with house made chili (no beans) and topped with a slice of American cheese. A slab of crispy hash browns and toast. Again a lot of food. A bowl of chili will be a nice meal when the weather cools down. 
We decided to share a side and since it was our first time, a Combo Plate ($6) was ordered. Fries (not too many; a nice surprise), onion rings (whole onion, not diced), zucchini fingers and mushrooms. This large platter was served with two large cups of house made Ranch (you can order more for 50¢). Excellent, fresh, proper fry (even the potatoes were nice and crisp) and leftovers.
A "3 x 3" burger ($6.60) was one order. Three charred beefy patties, three slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion on a toasted bun. Excellent, fresh and, of course, large.
The Chicken Breast Sandwich ($7.75) was a great choice. Served on a lightly toasted Squaw Roll, the grilled chicken breast has a slight char and is moist and flavorful. Lettuce and tomato is all that was needed to compliment this sandwich. 
We decided to share a banana milkshake ($4.50) and it was great! 
A remnant from the vault is now part of the decor.
Having 
Step inside, the sign in sheet is at the door, sushi bar is to your right. There is outdoor seating.
As always, we start with hot tea.
The paper menu is in English and Japanese. If you are early enough (and there are still some of the limited number of bento lunch specials available), you'll be given the daily Special Bento Box menu. You can also read the menus online. 
This Bento Special ($15) included Pot au feu, steamed chicken, fish miso, deep fried Spanish mackerel, deep fried meatloaf, spaghetti and rolled omelet (in addition to miso soup and salad). Pot au feu is steamed beef with vegetables; tender, rich flavored. The steamed chicken was also nicely flavored (no condiments/soy sauce is needed for any of this meal); every bite was well balanced.
Sara Udon ($18) is a crispy noodle based dish. Stir fried seafood (shrimp, fish, scallops) and vegetables with a smooth sauce surrounded by crisp, fried udon. Textures, flavors and comfort-food. 
Homemade gyoza ($7.50) are filled with a juicy pork mix,. The gyoza skins are thin with a light fry.
Chicken Katsu Bowl ($16). Served as a 'Set" (as are all the main dishes), the Katsu chicken on top of rice is light crisp-fried and juicy. 
Ebi Kakiage Udon ($14)- Shrimp with shredded vegetable. This tempura-type dish has the shrimp (ebi) coated with bits of seafood and vegetable fried into a sort of fritter. Pieces can be dipped in the udon, but the crispiness is what was craved this day.
Grouper Hot Pot ($15) (listed as 'Hataki Noko' instead of 'Nabe' on the handwritten receipt).
Arriving like this- with hidden fish and a luxurious topping of mixed vegetables and many types of mushroom in an excellent (not too salty) dashi based broth. Each component of this tray was filled with flavor. The fried grouper did manage to stay crisp for a good part of the meal.
One hot day, I ordered my favorite, Tempura Zaru Soba ($14). Chilled soba noodles with a tasty dipping sauce and tempura shrimp on the side. Soba does not affect my blood sugar levels, making this dish even more satisfying.
One day, we were seated at the back wall and were able to stop to read the display along that adjoining corner wall. Professional golfer, Xander Schauffele has a signed poster and other news items on this portion of the wall. 
That's what things looked like when I opened up the boxes back at the office. I did a quick taste of the tomato topping which was super bland, you couldn't even really taste tomato. The version of Mul Kimchi provided was weird as it had a real strong anise/clove flavor that wasn't very pleasant.
And not a hint of truffle flavor to be found.
The wings had held up better this time. I tried the sides first. The corn slaw was terrible, the "dressing" was really watery and this lacked flavor. Very little corn, you might as well just give me raw coleslaw mix.
The batter had peeled away from two of the pieces, which had been turned face down in the box. The sauce was not overly sweet, but I still would have preferred a bit more saltiness, this was much milder than the versions at other places. The chunks of chicken were on the dry and tough side.
I'm not going to beat a dead horse about that Mul Kimchi. I just don't care for the flavor.
Really friendly folks, a nice selection. I got the Missus a French Press and I got an Americano before we hit the road.
The Entry for Rotary International, "Clean Water, The Music of Life" was being tested with weight (people) onboard. You can see a rectangular slot at the front end of the 'keyboard'-that is where the 'Spotter' for the float will be watching for traffic and hazards during the parade. He or she will be communicating with the driver, who only looks down and follows the 'Rose Colored Line' painted on the street.
The entry by the City of Alhambra, "Celebrating the Year of the Dragon"was tested in its full open position. 
But every float has a maximum height and width it must be able to collapse down to so it can proceed along the Parade Route. The doorway of the decorating barn is that maximum size. 
"Chimes of Liberty Protecting Our Future" is the 2024 entry by the Fraternal Order of Elks, a Service Organization.
This detailed float will certainly be an eye catcher! You might notice the hands are missing from the Fife and Drum Corps- the faces as well as the hand flesh tones are being decorated with various spice blends/mixes by professionals (not us volunteers).
Lutheran Hour Ministries entry, "Make A Joyful Noise Unto The Lord" passed its third mechanics and maneuverability test and is ready to be decorated beginning on December 2. You can see the rectangular slot for the 'Spotter' in this photo.
Step inside, order and pay. We were directed to a table and soon enough, our orders were delivered. 
Pretty much a standard first time order for us: Har Gow ($3.99), Shumai ($3.99), Crescent dumplings ($3.59) and egg tarts ($3.59) were brought out first. Fresh and warm, great flavors.
The soup dumplings ($7.99) took a little longer and were steaming hot. (I took the photo before asking for a spoon, but there was no leakage) quite a bit of soup and a thin dumpling skin). Tasty.
There were utensils in the drawer under the tabletop-but no spoons. 
Tea was $1 each (so, one green and one oolong) and you could get more hot (as well as chilled) water at the counter.
Of course we're talking about good pork XLB. This was basically, meh…. The wrappers were too thick, there wasn't enough "soup" in the dumplings, and the pork filling was tough.
It was good. I liked the wrapper, which was tender, with a bit of heft, and a nice al dente pull to it. The filling was also nicely seasoned, more of a course chop with large pieces of tender, briny-sweet shrimp. There were perhaps a bit too much Chinese chives in this, but overall no complaints. I did not care for the dipping sauce that came with the jiaozi, it had sweet tones I didn't care for. I just ended up using the black vinegar provided on the table.
Here’s another fairly quick name change! The place just opened in January. Based on my 
