mmm-yoso!!!

Starting 2013: Pasadena. Rose Parade float viewing, House of Basturma and Carmela Ice Cream

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!! the food blog.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are doing some research for blog posts. Cathy is doing some blogging today.

Well, the first day of the New Year has come and gone and the holidays are almost over (we take down our decorations on the 12th Night after Christmas). The Mister and I had an interesting Day One of 2013 and here's a bit of it. 

We woke early, had a nice breakfast and watched the Rose Parade on television and as the parade ended (10 a.m.) got in the car and started the drive North.  We got to Pasadena, found a place to park just North of Sierra Madre Boulevard and then headed to the mile long fenced in area, where the 42 floats that participated in the parade were lined up end to end.

There were already about 100,000 other people there. 

Here's part of the HGTV float, which won the Grand Marshal Trophy (for excellence in creative concept and design). 

The Trader Joe's entry won the Extrordinaire Trophy (most spectacular float).

Here's some detail of the back end, with the electric beater making a 'meringue' out of egg whites (see the half 'eggshell' with yellow 'yolk'?).  Every inch of every float you see is covered with something that is or was alive- the 'rope' is made of white onions and the 'toothpick frills' are orchids.

The Department of Defense entry, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, won the National Trophy (best depiction of life in the USA, past, present or future) was replicating parts of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., using silverleaf to mimic the bronze of the original sculpture. This float was impressive.

Here's part of the Shriners Hospitals float, which won the Judges Special Trophy (most spectacular in showmanship and dramatic impact). The teddy bear looks soft and cuddly, even though his body is made of dried straw flowers and the bottom of his feet are dried artichoke bottoms. You can see the louver in his belly, where the 'viewer' sits and communicates with the driver of the float, who is in the back of the float in the dark. 

After more than two hours of braving the crowds, The Mister and I began walking the streets just North of Sierra Madre Boulevard and saw this.  The sign under the 'Chef" is the name of the restaurant- House of Basturma.

Stepping inside, there is a small deli counter and grocery shelving to the left, the area where you order is at the cash register and so is the grill and open kitchen area. There is indoor seating to the right and straight ahead is the outdoor seating and hookah area.

We looked at the small menu, determined the food was Armenian/Turkish/Lebanese, and then ordered and paid.  Soon the chef came out, made our food and brought it to our table.

I wanted to try the babaganouj ($4.50) and we wanted to share a Basturma sandwich ($4.99). The babaganouj was quite a large serving, fresh, not too smokey and not too garlicy-really nice and creamy and just really good. 

Basturma- an Armenian Lebanese pastrami-ish air dried beef.  It's coated in a paste of spices, including cumin, garlic, fenugreek and hot paprika. Sliced thin and then placed on this wonderful plain toasted semolina bread with just sliced tomatoes and pickles was absolutely wonderful.  The bread was crunchy on the edges and soft and flavorful and the Basturma was so darn good. A simple, savory meal to start the year.

When we walked out of the House of Basturma, we turned left and on the same block, saw this signage. We had to stop.

When you walk in, you are there; it's tiny.  The water vessel is in front of you and the available flavors are on the chalkboard to your left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to try two scoops ($4.50) of contrasting flavors and textures: cranberry orange thyme sorbet and the fresh mint with cacao nib ice cream.

Wow.  Distinctive flavors: fresh mint, fresh thyme, fresh cranberry and orange and then biting into the crunchy cacao nibs... delicious and a contrast of creamy, smooth and those nibs.  Simply nice, pleasant and popping.  Really a great find.

Carmela Ice Cream 2495 E. Washington Boulevard Pasadena CA 91104 (626) 797-1405 Website

I hope everyone is having a good year.

Road Trip-Pasadena: 2013 Rose Parade float Decorating Day and Zankou Chicken

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and sometimes there are stories about how we find places where we eat.  Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy finding places today.  Cathy had an adventure this past Saturday and is sharing today.

Good Monday Morning! Saturday was a *very* long day-The Mister and I had signed up to work on the first "Detail Day" of 2013 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade floats and needed to be in Pasadena by 9 a.m.. We left the house at 6:08 a.m., there wasn't any rain (like we had on Friday evening) and we parked on Raymond Street at 8:08 a.m..   

Volunteers were lined up.

Walking into the Phoenix Decorating Company Rose Palace, eleven floats were parked.  Of course, this barn is not heated and we were glad we wore layers.  You'll notice in almost every photo, everyone is wearing jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts.  (There is one photo of a guy in shorts, but he has on a lined jacket).

Here's what the barn looks like from the upstairs passageway.

Since this was the first of the 'dry' decorating days, most of the people were cutting statice flowers, to get enough to colore the various purple, blue and pink areas of the floats.  Every visible part of every float has to be covered in something that is, or was, alive and blue is a rare color seen in nature.

This looks like three colors to you, right? Well, each of those buckets of flowers got to be divided further, so the various shades of 'blues' 'purples', as well as 'pink' colors could be used on specific areas of the floats. This is how the darkest statice colors got divided:

Really. About six people cutting for eight hours resulted in

this much of one color being finished:

Other volunteers were cutting the petals off of straw flowers, saving the centers for another use.

The Lions Club had a good number of volunteers, steadily working on  their detailed float.

Every volunteer worked through the day.

There was plenty of gluing going on also.  

 

Every exposed surface must be covered with something that is, or was, alive...look again- there are two people working in the photo above. 

Soon enough, the PA System announced it was time to clean up and clear out.  Detail/Dry Decoration Day #1 was over.

We headed down Colorado Boulevard and stopped here, Zankou Chicken.  I had seen the sign on almost every trip we had made up here, but it never was open, since we were always so early.

Large inside, nice and clean. A pretty simple menu, easy ordering and fast service.  You can see many chickens on the rotisseries to the top right.  There were also rotisserie spits with shawerma and tarna.  

Of course, we decided to order the name of the restaurant...and chose a whole chicken, which was cut in half for us. It came with 4 fresh pita breads and a 'powerful garlic sauce'- (it's firmly whipped; not saucy) ($9.99). We also ordered a small (8 oz) tabbouleh salad ($3.49) and a side of two fresh falafel ($1.35).  Everything was excellent.  The chicken was moist with crispy skin..and wonderfully complimented by the 'powerful garlic sauce' (that's the signage description; I now refer to it as 'magic garlic').  The falafel were on top of a good amount of fresh tahini sauce and light with a good, thin crisp crust...and seemed to have a familiar spice in them...maybe cinnamon.  These were very good. The tabbouleh was so fresh and flavorful, the parsley, onion, tomato and bulghur topped with lemon juice and olive oil was so refreshing. We finished it all and were ready for our two hour drive home.

A long day, with much accomplished. I hope all of you had a good weekend.

Phoenix Decorating Company Website -if you'd like to sign up as a volunteer, or watch decorating live on the webcams.

Zankou Chicken 1296 E. Colorado Boulevard Pasadena (626) 405-1502 Website 

 

Road Trip Weekend-(Pasa)Dena Burgers, some markets, meat by the side of the road and final 2013 Rose Parade float road test.

Thanks for reading mmm-yoso!!! on this week of preparation, travel and beginning of holiday celebrations. Cathy is writing today.  The guys (Kirk and ed(from Yuma)) are very busy.

This past Saturday was a busy (and exciting) day for us.  The Mister and I woke early, let the dogs out, drove North, encountered rain and sunshine and got to Pasadena to enjoy the final day of Rose Parade float road testing before the actual parade (photos at the end of this post) and then drove North on Arroyo Seco, headed East on Orange Grove and saw this signage...and had to stop.

I liked the font...and right there on the corner of Orange Grove and North Los Robles, an angled building, to allow for drive through access while ordering from the passenger side of your vehicle-

Dena Burgers looked like a place to investigate.

Walk in, order and pay at one window,

and pick up at the other window.

We decided to go by the name of the place, and ordered a Breakfast Burger ($5.25)- a 1/4 pound burger, egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato and hash browns on a toasted bun.  It was large and tasty, but kind of dry and we each added some ketchup at some point in eating our respective half.
A Machaca and eggs plate ($5.50) as well as some very good (Gavina) coffee completed this meal.  The fresh tomato and crisp bell pepper as well as onion cooked with eggs and beef to a crusty brown, was really good (The salsa and onions on top were added from the condiment bar at the pick up window). The rice and beans were unusually tasty and the fresh, warm corn tortillas were a bonus.  

Dena Burgers 445 E. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91104  (626) 792-7035

When we finished, we walked across the parking lot to this grocery store.

Baja Ranch Supermarket was magical.  I didn't take many photos inside, because it was quite crowded. There is a large steam tray area, deli area, excellent meat/poultry/seafood selection, tortilleria, bakery and produce area. There were extensive displays of chiles being sold here- dried in bags, in bulk and fresh. There items sold here include Mexican as well as Peruvian, Cuban and Salvadorean...and some American staples.  We spent $21 and filled five cloth bags we had brought from home (this part of LA County charges for grocery bags).

Baja Ranch Supermarket 475 Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena 91101 website

We continued East, got to Sierra Madre Boulevard and 

stopped at the Pasadena Farmers Market again.

We chose a few seasonal items...

Pasadena Certified Farmers Market, Sierra Madre at Paloma, next to Pasadena High School website

Then we headed East on the 210...and, remembering that H Mart was opening in San Diego that day, decided to check out what we figured would be an uncrowded H-Mart located close to where we were...

Upon entering the Diamond Bar location of a Super H Mart and turning to the right, 

we encountered a large Food Court area... which included this little franchise-Deli Manjoo 

which has a window where you can watch this conveyor belt baking system  making sweet treats.  We were given samples fresh off the griddle! You can get a mix of eight for $3...

You can see the walnut shapes are filled with red bean paste as well as a walnut.  For Lucky Fish we chose two filled with custard and  two filled with cream cheese.  Deli Manjoo Website

We also picked up savory treats at The Tous les Jours franchise. Excellent and so very fresh! The young ladies working here were very helpful and the selection was amazing. Website

There were other vendors in the food court area..and small shopping areas on other walls of this large store- then there was the H-Mart store itself.

Clean, fresh, friendly.  One thing we noticed that the ladies giving samples were set up at the aisle ends, which were specifically sample areas- outlets on the floor so electric pans could be easily heated for sampling. Combined with the available items in the 'regular' food aisles, H Mart is a great store. I can't wait to visit "ours". Generic H Mart website link.

Since it is Thanksgiving, we needed to pick up our smoked ham, or "meat by the side of the road" as I have fondly termed it. 
Once again, the Valley Center Optimists have their trailer set up in front of Fat Ivor's and are selling smoked hams (whole and half) for Thanksgiving.  They will also be selling hams for  Christmas and Easter. We wait for this time of year to be able to purchase this ham.
Here is a cross section view of the smoked half ham ($35). My friend from Valley Center, Ms. T., picked hers up and warmed it so The Mister and I could have a slice when we drove by to pick up ours.   Valley Center Optimists 760-390-4173

Oh.  So this day began with the last day to see 2013 Rose Parade floats do their final road test of the year. I've posted about previous road test days...all the floats need to pass three tests before being allowed to drive down Pasadena streets on New Years Day.  

When we got here, the Lions Club float was finishing the test drive.

The Honda float, very long and intricately detailed was parked and waiting in line to be tested.  Those are steps leading to a slide that people will be sliding on during the five mile long parade route.
Here's a better view of the slide.
Here's an unusual view of another float...

and another float from a high viewpoint...

and here is another perspective of the front of the Honda float (see the slide?).

Those viewpoints are from above ground, because I was standing on-ON- the front of The Lutheran Hour float! Yes, The Mister and I were asked to participate in the road test and fire drill.

Here's the float after the fire drill. It had started to rain when we were testing...but had to pretend there was a fire anyhow.

We've never made a "Bucket List" of things we wanted to do, but if we had, this would've been on it- and checked off!

If anyone wants to know about volunteering to decorate a Rose Parade float, information is available HERE.

I hope everyone has a non-hectic week ahead.

#GoBlue

 


 

2013 Rose Parade Float Road Test-and breakfast at Euro Pane Bakery (Pasadena)

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy do things and eat, just like you.  Today Cathy is writing about why, where and what she had for breakfast.

As you (may) know, The Mister and I grew up back East watching the Rose Parade from our snow covered homes on January 1 (or 2nd, if the 1st was a Sunday) for most of our childhood.  At some point, we were able to fulfill one of our "when I grow up" goals.  We have volunteered decorating floats for a few years now and know that the parade does not happen overnight.  Planning for next year starts almost as soon as the parade ends.  One of many steps is the "road test" of the floats.  I've posted about the July and the August road tests from this year and skipped writing a post in September, but did, once again, wake at 4 a.m. (so the dogs could all be let out) before leaving our home in East County so as to be on Raymond Street in Pasadena at 7 a.m. to view the floats. We did it all over again on Saturday. So, here are some photos of the September and October road testing..and our breakfast. 

 

The Banner Float-the first one you'll see, showing the Theme of the 2013 parade.  It will have so many different items to match and contrast all the colors painted on here as guidelines.  

The LAX float was just a shell of rebar in August.  That's the new Tom Bradley Terminal, which will open in March.

The HGTV float last time was kind of difficult to picture, but now, all the different home styles are clear.

This little guy, in his own home, will be on the "camera" side of the float.

So those were the 'completed' floats from September.  

After we saw all the road testing, once again, we stopped at Lucky Boy and pretty much ordered what apparently has become our "usual".  I didn't think you'd be interested in another post, especially containing the same meal...

But I did think you might be interested in seeing a September road test of the rebar-only floats and the resulting October completed floats...

All we knew about this float was that it was the Farmers Insurance Group entry in the parade. It looks like some sort of centerpiece or that something will be featured on the top of the vessel. 

It turns out that one lucky couple will be getting married on this float during the parade! (There was a contest to pick the couple, entries ended October 14). The people are on the float to test how it moves/turns with weight, as there will be people riding on the float during the parade. 

In September, seeing this...

pulling this, with our only clue being this was the RFD-TV float, had us guessing what was what (other than we knew the front item was a tractor). 

Amber waves of grain- so surprised to see such a beautiful result.

Here's the "camera" view...

The Donate Life float appears to be one long mobius ribbon forming hearts along the float.  The riders will all be recipients or families of organ donors, as always.

<--This is a closer look at the float, while the riders were exiting on a fire drill.

There was only one 'bare' float being tested and I'll save it for next time. (Hint: Honda) 

After this early day, we headed out to seek breakfast 'somewhere on Colorado Boulevard'.

and since it was before 9 a.m., only had to look where we saw vehicles parked...and Euro Pane Bakery looked like a nice place.

Not very large inside (I counted 12 two person tables, and one that could seat eight).  When we arrived, only five tables were occupied.  

The two photos show all of the display cases and breads available (those are very large macarons in the photo above).  Of course, I didn't want any sweets, and chose a slice of spinach quiche:

It came with a currant filled eggy roll... fresh-soft and lightly chewy, which went well with the unsalted butter.

The quiche is very spinach-y, without addition of other flavorings (i.e., no onion or nutmeg).  The custard part of the quiche was smooth and eggy, like flan (there was an opposite of a custard:spinach ratio in the pieces near the edge). The crust was light and flaky...and gosh, so fresh.

The Mister saw this item on the counter and asked what it was and the nice Lady said "ham and cheese". Turns out there was also bacon, onions and carrot inside this fresh, crispy crust.  It was very much like an Alsace Onion Tart (or the Tarte d'Alsace sold at Trader Joe's), but rolled and inside a crust.  The onion was a carmelized sweet and inoffensive (The Mister only eats onions if they are battered and fried or in French onion soup and he did eat some of these, although a nice stack was on the side of the plate when we traded.).

Both items were heated-in an oven in back-for us and brought out to our table. Heating made the flavors even better. I neglected to take the receipt and only know that these two items plus one coffee cost a bit less than $13.  I must say the quality was there and the sandwich menu board looked extremely interesting...and now I wish I had grabbed a sweet, or a loaf of bread...

Euro Pane Bakery 950 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 107 Pasadena, CA 91106 (626) 577-1828

 

 

Road Trip-Pasadena. ( 2013 Rose Parade floats, Lucky Boy for Breakfast, shopping at Wholesome Choice)

Hello.  This is mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  We write about food: eating food, cooking food and adventures related to food.  Cathy is posting today: Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy doing something related to food.

Last month, I posted about a road trip The Mister and I made to watch Rose Parade floats having a road test. This past Saturday, we woke early (4 a.m.) and drove North, (leaving around 5 a.m.) and around 7 a.m., parked a block from Raymond Street,

where we could walk to a Starbucks and then continue across the Gold Line Trolley tracks

and be on Raymond Street, where the floats were already lined up and on their road tests.

The Shriner's float is painted-marked with all the areas ready to be covered by flowers.  It should be magnificent.

The City of Los Angeles float will be an ode to LAX- the major airport and hub where many of us have connected.

It will be promoting the new Tom Bradley International Terminal which will open early in 2013. 
The City of Alhambra float is complete and that center has a working fountain!

It looks like the City of Glendale float has 'searchlights' lighting the sky.

The HGTV float, which has also been welded in the last month, has many types of houses on it- I see a bird house and igloo shape and the back house in this photo is lowered, as part of the testing to see that it will fit under the street and signal lights along the Rose Parade route.

The Trader Joe's float, which was only a rebar outline in the July road testing, is complete and so detailed with many moving parts.  This is the view of it you won't see- the side which will be away from the television cameras.

From this camera side view, you can see the giant orange thing is an espresso machine, a few more details and also that a 'gravy boat' is following the larger boat of a float...and the back of the main float has a hand mixer (with spinning blades) and cracked eggs, and appears to have been blending up a fluffy meringue at the back of the boat. 

Here's a little more detail at the center: a hand held can opener is in front of the espresso machine and under the open cookbook.  This float is most certain to win a prize; it is unique and so well done.

So after we viewed these seven floats, The Mister and I walked back across Arroyo and North a block and we were once again at Lucky Boy.

(This is the view from the Trader Joe's)

Once again, creature of habit, I ordered the egg sandwich ($3.25) but neglected to ask for it on rye bread, and it was on white toast..not bad and still filling, it's just that I really like rye toast. I swear it is three scrambled eggs. 

The Mister tried the bacon burrito this time, and I wanted you to see the grill marks on the tortilla, as well as the amount of filling which really does make it weigh around a pound- cheese, hash browns, eggs and ...bacon!  

We did walk over to the Trader Joe's and purchased some Goddess salad dressing, which I had read about (it is good; has tahini, soy and garlic).  Then we were headed home, and decided to drive on the 210 toward Interstate 15 for our trip South...

knowing that if we took the 210 to the 57 to the 71 and went West on 91 (instead of East, which goes to the 15) and three or four exits, we would be at the Anaheim Hills location of Wholesome Choice, a fascinating Market which I posted about more than two years ago. 

The store has good prices and selection of fruits and vegetables 

as well as several areas of various ethnic cuisines in steam trays for easy grab and go.

as well as gelato,

and six glassed bakery cases...

There is also the area I migrated to- the olives (although those figs stuffed with coconut on the left caught my eye)...

and the various house prepared salads, including hummus and baba ganoosh, which were purchased...

along with *hot* out of the oven, almost three feet long, just baked , placed on a piece of brown paper

sesame covered, spongy soft, bubbled and a little burned fresh Sangak bread ($2.79).  The bread lasted four meals, only because we resisted tearing off pieces while driving home.

We were home by 12:30 and had a great Saturday adventure.  I hope all of you did, too. 

Lucky Boy Drive In 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena, CA 91105Website It is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, otherwise it's open. 

Wholesome Choice 5755 East La Palma Anaheim Hills, CA 92807 (Open 7-11 daily) (Food Court area open 11-8 daily) website

 

 

 

Pasadena Road Trip-An early 2013 Rose Parade event and breakfast at Lucky Boy

Hi there, person reading the blog called mmm-yoso!!! Sometimes Kirk writes here about meals and events and sometimes ed (from Yuma) writes about meals and events.  Today, Cathy is writing about an event and a meal.

Well, it's been a hot and busy summer so far, probably for everyone.  There are events every weekend it seems.  Last weekend, San Diego was hosting both Comic-Con and Over the Line, the Orange County Fair opened and on Saturday, The Mister and I woke at 4:30 a.m., let the dogs out and back in the house, grabbed some snacks and coffee and jumped in the car and headed North, to Pasadena.  In less than two hours, we were greeted by this sign.

Our reason for the trip and being here before 7 a.m.. Some of the floats that will appear in the 2013 Tournament of Roses parade were going to be road tested! There are at least three road tests for each float before the parade.  This road test was mentioned on the Phoenix Decorating Company Facebook page and not on the website. The Rose Parade has fascinated both of us since we were children, watching it on television every New Year Day from our snow-bound homes back East and we are so happy to be able live here and be able to help decorate floats and also watch the progression of their creation every year. 

This will be the Trader Joe's entry.  You can see a few of the many kitchen gadgets (and cupcake holders) that will be part of the float.  There will be some animation and those parts seemed to be the ones tested.

This is the initial sketch of the float. You can see the photo is facing the opposite of this drawing. It will be interesting to see the final product, which I am sure will be great. 

Another float was being driven, with the Observer in front, directing the driver (who will be in an enclosed area in the middle of the float) down the street using headsets and microphones and then directing to a 180 degree turn at the end of the street to get back to the barn.

You can see the driver in this photo.

Other floats have the rebar skeletons covered and are almost ready to be marked for colors.  This is the Shriners Hospital float.  One bear depicts the Shriners Open Golf Tournament and the other bear depicts the Shriners Football Classic:

The rectangle cut into the belly of that bear will be where the Observer for this float will be looking out along the parade route.

Some of the floats are essentially ready for decorating, covered with foam and painted the colors where the various live and dried materials will be placed and glued.  This is the 'other side' of the Nurses' float-the side the television cameras won't show.

This is the side you will see when you watch the parade on television.  So beautiful.  

The Rotary International float is very animated- that screw knob in the back spins and so do all of the gears!  It was tested with nine riders. 

The City of Hope float looks like a Chemistry Laboratory, complete with a spiral bound notebook and microscope.

There were eleven floats in all, all in different levels of being finished and tested for safety.  It was fun to watch...and was all over before 9 a.m. There will be another road test on August 18. Dry decorating of the floats begins December 1.  Volunteers are always welcome, but you have to sign up.  Here are  three links about decorating opportunities.

So, it was breakfast time and The Mister and I walked half a block North and over the Metro Gold Line tracks (this is the Fillmore Station)

to Arroyo Parkway and took a left,

and stopped at about two blocks North, at Lucky Boy...which is right at the corner with
the *Original* Trader Joe's location (the logo under the main sign is "Your neighborhood grocery store").

Anyhow, Lucky Boy.  Walk up, order...

pay and wait for your number to be called...

A little peek inside the cooking area. The tortillas are cooked on a grill- and have grill marks.

This is a cross section of the famous Breakfast Burrito ($5.80).  It weighs about one pound.  Really. Hash browns, cheese, scrambled eggs and, in this case, ham-which was warm from the grill; nice.  The salsa which came with was tasty and unique, a tomatillo based with some green chili and also a red chili with some heat.   

We have been here before, but for lunch and dinner, and I usually order a pastrami something, but this time I decided to try a simple breakfast...

An egg sandwich, on rye toast. ($3.25)(not a typo).  Soft scrambled eggs with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on a really nice rye bread.  

A perfect day.  We stopped at a few places and were home by noon.  The day had just begun!

Lucky Boy Drive In 640 S. Arroyo Parkway Pasadena, CA 91105 Website It is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day, otherwise it's open. 




 

 

 

The 2012 San Diego County Fair: Part One

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  Sometimes the bloggings consist of events surrounding food, whether the purchasing and preparation, the adventure of getting to the city, county or country serving the food, or the exploration of the surroundings of where the food is served, Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy try to write about the background and history of the meals blogged about. Today, Cathy is blogging.  

Hello again.  Usually I post about the San Diego County Fair before it opens.  This year, I thought I'd change it up.  Also, I was at the Fairgrounds before most booths were set up.

As an example, here is a photo straight down the Midway: the Ferris Wheel wasn't even set up yet.

However, Chicken Charlie had his booth constructed....

That day, the Home and Hobby Competitive Exhibits were being judged...

Preserved Foods, the "heart" of the Fair, had a lot of entries this year. Above are some pickles being judged.

There are many Craft categories and competition is plentiful.  So many entries.

As well as the Felting, Spinning and Weaving competitions.

The Quilting competition has many categories which always have many beautiful entries.

So.  The Mister and I did go to the Fair for the first time this year one morning before the fog had lifted (yay June Gloom!).  The Theme this year is "Out of this World".  You can see Don Diego (above) dressed in a sort of astronaut suit. 

It was busy that morning. You can see the Ferris Wheel all the way at the end of the Midway...

To the left of the entrance are the various Flower and Garden Show entries.  Above, you can see some decorations incorporating the Fair Theme.

Other competitors made use of unusual plants which looked to be "Out of This World"

T

Other competitors use plants as well as all of the space given to share a vision of the Theme.

The Gems, Mineral and Jewelery exhibits are fascinating, as always.

Design in Wood always has beautiful items.

One local High School has an Instructor who supervised the students to create basic weapons-and enter them in the Fair.  These are sling shots, trebuchets, catapults and marshmallow shooters entered by one class... 

The Home and Hobby displays all the competitors, with their respective awards, ready on opening day. 

The Preserved Food and Liquer competitors are also displayed with their respective awards.

The quilts are displayed all around the second floor of Home and Hobby.  

Along with all the Collections...

This is a collection Started after June 1 last year. It is Max's fur brushed from him and formed into a cute display.  This entry won a few prizes.

OK.  The food at the Fair. This is a  preview of some of the offerings- you can choose what you'd like to eat if you are there. 

The Bacon A Fair booth is selling a 2 pound turkey leg wrapped with one pound of bacon.  Yes, people are buying it.  

If you walk over the Race Track, to the infield, where the Children's rides, games and a new Zip Line are located-go to the left.

The Lobster Shack, a new vendor, is here. Look to the right in the above photo.

Those two beautiful copper pots are filled with water and on top of a huge stove/heat source.  You can see the basket to the left being filled with live lobsters.

A whole lobster dinner is $25.  There is a person who will crack and 'start' your lobster for you. There are also other offerings for a bit less (lobster roll sandwich is $17) and those prices are not bad for this kind of fresh made meal.  

However, this is the County Fair, so the once a year offerings are plentiful..

...along with the creative booths.  As far as what The Mister and I ate on this visit?

My usual. An artichoke sandwich ($9, with $1 avocado added-$10, includes tax and the salad)

This is what I get every year. The roll- a hearty slightly crunchy, toasted wheat roll with melted cheese, olives, sprouts, the avocado, tomato and plain (not marinated) artichokes.  It's just perfect.  

This day, The Mister and I got all wild and crazy and spent $3.50 (instead of $3 for a single flavor whichis also a bit smaller)  on a Neopolitan cream puff.  Chocolate, strawberry and vanilla whipped cream (the strawberry is nice, not artificial flavor) on a fresh made (we got to the booth before the puff pastry was finished baking that morning) flaky light puff pastry roll.  

Oh, there are rides and a lot more I haven't shown.  This is the San Diego County Fair, 2012 edition.

Here's the back side of the Entrance- a cute Exit sign for this year.  We'll be back.  There is a lot more that goes on at the 5th largest County Fair in the U.S.A.

San Diego County Fair Website. There are so many daily contests and events (This weekend is Beer Fest; July 2 will have Food Trucks on the infield) and also many ways to get disounted tickets.  If you live here, you've seen ads since the beginning of May-Much more publicity this year.  Go.  Enjoy!

St. Spyridon's Greek Festival 2012

Man, I'm a bit fried after a 30 hour plus return trip....the main problems being a delay at Heathrow and my inability to sleep on flights in spite of flying in World Traveller Plus class. Well at least the Missus and I caught up on a bunch of movies.

This morning I woke up, still in a bit of a haze and remembered that St. Spyridon's Greek Festival was this weekend. It used to be that we'd go every year. But for whatever reason, there was a gap of several years until I went last year. So I thought, "jet lag be damned, why not just go...." I'd usually go on the first day, but that wasn't going to happen this year.

It just so happened that admission is free between 11am and 1pm today and tomorrow (Sunday), so this would not cost me anything at all. One quick tidbit. This year the parking is at the San Diego Unified School District offices up on Park. There's a shuttle, but I decided to take the rather long walk to jar my senses back.

Things look about the same as last year......though I did notice that even at 1115am things looked ready to go, you didn't have to wait for the lamb or other items at the Taverna booth.

As usual, the Taverna, Dining Room, and the Pastries drew the most attention.

Of course there are other choices as well, saganaki, gyros, and a wine bar come to mind. I did end up grabbing some olive oil from the grocery booth and just had to get some lamb and loukaniko (which was pretty good) to go from the taverna, which made for a pretty hefty lunch for me. It's pretty decent fair food.

Anyway, go check it out if you have time. You can still get in free from 11 to 1pm tomorrow. More information on the event's website. Yamas!

St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church's Greek Festival
3655 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92103

Friday Festival Hours:   5PM-10PM  •  FREE ADMISSION 5PM - 10PM
Saturday Festival Hours: 11AM-10PM  •  FREE ADMISSION 11AM - 1PM
Sunday Festival Hours:   11AM-8PM  •  FREE ADMISSION 11AM - 1PM

 

 

 

The 2011 San Diego County Fair-Part 3: Sensible Fair Food

Yes, this is mmm-yoso!!! the blog about food which is usually written by one of three people (and occasionally by some other friends).  Kirk is out somewhere in the world enjoying a vacation, ed (from Yuma) is also out enjoying this three day weekend and Cathy is catching up-on a post she thought about writing last July. 

Hi.  The title of this post is *not* a typo.  There are two posts written about the 2011 San Diego County Fair and a third post to tie up loose ends was intended to be written...and, well, it never seemed to be the right time. This long weekend, when people are home celebrating Memorial Day and maybe thinking about  the 2012 San Diego County Fair seems to be the right time to post. I wrote this because people asked me what I really eat when I go to the Fair.

Now, I have shown the decadent offerings at the Fair...

The truth is, The Mister and I try maybe one of the newer, decadent offerings, but don't make a day of eating all that stuff. For one, it would be expensive and second, I just don't deliberately stuff myself at any meal. 

There are smarter choices offered and you can still eat different foods than your usual snacks while enjoying the exhibits on the Fairgrounds. The exhibits and contests are the "heart" of the Fair- why the Fair exists.

Albertsons, one of the Sponsors of the Fair, has had this booth for several years now: 

The Albertson's Rejuvenation Station sells a variety of salads, fruits, nuts and more or less 'healthy' beverages. 

There are also many booths with grilled food available-

...sometimes next to or within booths offering fried choices...You have to read the smaller print on some of the booths-or just look around:

There are at least ten vendors selling grilled turkey legs at the Fair, and at least another ten selling grilled corn.

 Now, what do The Mister and I eat when we go to the County Fair? Well, we do try at least one of the "new" offerings each year, but when it is time for a meal,

The falafel burger and/or the artichoke sandwich from Roxy's is one purchase we make.  It's great. Very large, on a wheat bun, topped with fresh, crisp vegetables and...I am not sure what makes it different, but it is. I've never been disappointed with either sandwich. 

Also every year, we *must* stop here.

I can't make or buy a fresh cream puff like this- the shells are baked daily in the trailer.  When you order, then the shells are filled with fresh whipped cream.  Heaven.

One last view of the 2011 Fair- the view from the West.

The 2012 San Diego County Fair has had some exhibits judged and it's being set up...that's another post.  It opens June 8. This is a link to the new foods that will be available at the 2012 San Diego County Fair.

 

I hope everyone is enjoying this weekend and the reason we celebrate Memorial Day. Thank you to those who Serve and Served.

 






 

San Diego Tet Festival 2012

Can you believe that it's that time again? What's also hard to believe is that I've gone to every one of  these all they way back to 2006! It's now the 7th annual....man, we've been around for a while now....

I've managed to post on each one except for last year when I went on Saturday evening. I took photos, but it was late by the time I got home and I really didn't want to do a "hey, look where I went and what you missed" type of post. So this year I went right when they opened up today.

Since they've moved to Balboa Park in 2008, the set-up has been basically the same. All the carnical rides and games near the entrance, the main stage to the East, the cultural area to the Southeast.....

Though I didn't see the Phuoc Duyen Pagoda this year? All the businesses and sponsors have the central area, with the food stalls to the Southwest.

I wasn't really wowed by the selections thia year, with all the usual suspects.....

Though I was surprised to see that Homestyle Hawaiian is doing the "Fair Circuit".......

The two most interesting food booths were lined up to the west of the HH booth.

The Sticky Rice Booth had Lao and Thai items on the menu.....

I thought some Kao Piak would be just the thing to take the chill off....unfortunately, they weren't ready yet. On a more (possibly) positive note, I was told that they make their own noodles, so this one might be of interest.

Next door, the Van Lang Booth (I believe it's the booth of the Vietnamese Language Center) also had some interesting stuff on the menu.....

Though they weren't ready as well. I guess that's the opposite problem I had from last year. This year, I was too early.

Anyway, even though I don't think the food offerings have hit quite the same heights as the 2007 festival, it still might be a good enough reason to get on out and have a good time.

There was also an additional payoff for me as I got some interesting info from a couple of signs around the fair:

I knew that Pho Ca Dao was expanding East.......

But I didn't know that Ba Le was returning to Linda Vista.....

San Diego Tet Festival 2012

Friday 01/20/2012 05:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday 01/21/2012 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday 01/22/2012 11:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Website.