mmm-yoso!!!

Roadtrip (2022) - A Stroll Around Town and Dinner at Bell's (Los Alamos)

After getting lunch in Los Olivos, we headed up to our main destination for the road trip, Los Alamos with a population of under 2,000. Why, you might ask? Well, when doing research for road trip destinations and Michelin restaurants, I came across a one-star restaurant in, of all places, Los Alamos! WTH? To make it even more enticing, the cuisine was French; or French influenced....in fact, we got a laugh when we saw that Bell's claimed they served "Franch" cuisine!

We've always enjoyed the Santa Ynez Valley, so we thought why not spend an evening in Los Alamos? We arrived a bit early at our accommodations, the Alamo Motel, which was basically right across the street from Bell's, though the main strip of the town is basically 4 blocks long! I notified the really efficient and friendly young lady in charge that we had arrived and she promised to text us when our room was ready.

And then we set off to take a look at Los Alamos.

There were two markets, well make that one market.....

And one convenience store....a couple of wine tasting shops, several restaurants, one really good looking bakery, which we would check out the next morning, and  a couple of art/antique shops.

 We did a bit of "window shopping" and folks here as would be expected were super warm and friendly.

We really enjoyed slowing things down and relaxing......

I had read that Los Alamos became popular as a stagecoach stop.

And there is undoubtedly a "old west" vibe to the town.

Check out the 1880 Union Hotel.

Apparently, the saloon here was a great place to grab a cocktail before Covid; but is now open for private events only. Bummer, it would have been fun comparing it to the Iron Door Saloon in Groveland.

Many of the buildings were repurposed, but kept signs and other indicators of the history visible.

We returned to the motel; our room wasn't quite ready yet, but there is a wine bar in front of the motel.

Along with some nice shaded seating, quite important on a pretty warm day. The Missus and I had some sparkling water and just relaxed until our room was ready.

Soon enough our room was ready, 2 hours earlier than scheduled. I walked over to the market next door, grabbed more sparkling water, and the Missus and I settled in and had a nice nap.

We awoke nice and refreshed. We took a short stroll before dinner. Yep, that's pretty much the town below.

Loved this street sign!

With Covid still in our head, we had made 530 dinner reservations outdoors. 

We were seated in the lovely back patio. The Service was so relaxed, very friendly, and we just enjoyed ourselves. Bell's is super dog friendly; in fact there were four pooches having dinner with their "hoomans"!

This one was especially charming!

Bell's does only a Pre Fixe menu for dinner, which at the time of our visit was just $75 per person. The husband and wife team (Daisy and Greg Ryan) behind the restaurant are alumni of Per Se and Daisy Ryan, who is the chef was named one of the Best New Chefs by Food & Wine Magazine....yes, in Los Alamos.

We placed our orders and during the evening, the Missus wasn't sure what wine to match with Her dishes....wouldn't you know, the great staff brought Her like 6 different whites to try? And they were like "half pours"!

We started with the Santa Barbara Sea Urchin and ordered it with the Caviar ($15 supplement). As you can see; the uni was pristine; just perfect.

It had a wonderful sweet-brininess, buttery texture....in fact, it didn't need the caviar which kind of over powered the dish. I was worried that the mille crepe would be on the sweet side; but it was quite neutral in flavor and basically was just a wonderful vehicle to get that uni to your mouth.

What we noticed with the quite simply dressed Salade of Finley Farms Lettuces was how perfectly each leaf was dressed.

In what would be a recurring theme; we enjoyed the wonderful balance of flavors and seasonings.

To us, the least impressive dish was the Santa Barbara Bluefin Crudo.

The bluefin was of good quality, but call us jaded, we thought the ojo blanco and the garlic oil really didn't stand up and uplevel the mild flavored fish.

We absolutely adored the Duck Confit.

The Missus told me; "this is what I want your duck confit to be"! Egads! This was wonderful, perfectly seasoned, not overly salty, perfect firm, but not hard texture, fairly moist. It went so well with the jus, lentils, and the sweet-acidic tomatoes! The sourdough croutons added a wonderful crisp-crunch to the dish.

At this point the Missus asked me if we could hang around a bit longer the next day (Monday) and get lunch here. I was able to make reservations for lunch! So we'd be returning the next day.

I had seen Ris de Veau on the menu online; but unfortunately, that had been replaced by the time we had our dinner; so I ordered the Bodega Bay King Salmon.

Man, those heirloom tomatoes were outstanding and the tarragon added a nice anise touch to this; something I would not usually put on salmon I make. The capers added that nice briny-salty component and the Hollandaise added a nice, balanced creaminess to things.

The Missus got the Capuchon de Chevre, basically a hood shaped pasta stuffed with chevre.

Loved the combination of the eggplant cream and the sweet corn; what a wonderful combo!

The Missus got the Almond Financier which was to Her taste (i.e., not too sweet).

Quite refreshing.

I got the Dark Chocolate Glacée.

Which, while being ice and cold....wonderful on a very warm day was a bit too sweet for me.

Overall, an excellent meal. The staff was so wonderful and we loved the fact that there was an automatic 20% service charge for the staff. It's great that Bell's really wants to make sure the staff who are from the area are paid well. And then I was told that our Servers comped two of the glasses of wine, so I made sure to leave a bit more.

Bell's
406 Bell St.
Los Alamos, CA 93440
Current Hours:
Thurs - Mon 11am - 3pm, 5pm - 830pm
Closed on Tuesday - Wednesday

We took another short stroll after dinner, it seemed like everything closed at 6 or 7 on Sundays. As we headed back to our room, the Missus and I noted how relaxed we both felt. I guess Los Alamos will do that to you!

The Missus and I were both looking forward to lunch the next day. And guess what? We enjoyed that even more!

Stay Tuned!

Phuong Nga Bakery and Café Revisited

With the recent hot and relatively muggy weather, I'd been craving banh mi. Also, I had been wanting to revisit Phuong Nga Bakery and Café, but when I initially dropped by after work, I saw that their hours were now only from 8am to 3pm Mondays to Fridays. I did pass by on a Saturday and I noticed activity in the place. And then it dawned on me.....all that bread you see Phuong Nga selling from their counter is baked here! Duh..... And so, I made it a point to actually drop by during the shop's business hours to grab a banh mi.

The young man working was very nice and did confirm that the bread at Phuong Nga is indeed baked here.

I ordered the Banh Mi with Ham and Pate (Banh Mi Thịt Nguoi - $6.19, all sign are only in English) to go and my sandwich was ready in a few minutes.

 The banh mi here have always been on the "hefty" side in my opinion and this was no different. First off, the bread was really crusty, I felt perhaps a bit too heavily baked? One bite resulted in crusty "shrapnel" flying in all directions. Still, this was much better than what I've recently had from Cali Baguette and Cali Banh Mi, both of which seemed to have "jumped the shark" a while back.

There was a nice smear of pate which I enjoyed and perhaps a bit too much Thịt Nguoi? But maybe that because of my own "PPP" (personal proportional preference)?

The jalapeno was pretty mild and for some reason I felt the sandwich could have done with more cilantro and pickled veggies? Perhaps that's because of the larger amount of protein in this sandwich?

Anyway, this did fill me up and I think is a decent option for banh mi. If that bread was just a little less baked, it would have brought it up a notch as it was nice and yeasty and the non-crust portions nice and tender. So, I'll probably check them out again soon.

Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 8am - 3pm
Closed on Saturday and Sundays

Zion Market Moving in 2023?

I was driving west on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard when these signs grabbed my attention.

Whoa......now this was news to me. So, I went into the parking lot and there was a good bit of demolition going on. But the "footprint" seemed a bit smaller than what I would expect for Zion.

I know that Kearny Mesa Bowl has closed, so perhaps that whole huge lot where Zion currently resides is going to be demolished/renovated?

If this is accurate; the move will happen in 2023....which is actually less than 6 months away. Man, just think, in the life of our humble little blog, Zion would have gone from Mercury Street and the terrible parking, to the huge lot on corner of Clairemont Mesa and Convoy, to this location, near Societe Brewing, which doesn't seem to have a whole lot of parking.

The address would be:

8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Smokin' Joe's Soul Food Weekends at the Poseidon Project - A Quick Look

I had to make a quick run to Siesel's last week. At that time finding parking was just horrible and I managed to find a spot several blocks away from the shop. While walking back to the car I noticed a huge set-up in back of the Poseidon Project.

  I went in and chatted with the nice folks at Poseidon and they told me that they were starting BBQ on weekends starting on the 5th of August, running from Fridays to Sundays.

Sure enough, I drove past the place yesterday and saw the signs up.

The BBQ is being done by the folks from Smokin' Joe's BBQ. If I recall, these were the folks doing BBQ in at Iowa Meat Farms a while back.

Since I'm all for more variety in our area, I decided to drop on in and get some takeout.

The drill is; you order from the friendly folks here, get a receipt, pay inside Poseidon, and return back with a ticket and pick up your order.

Before ordering, I asked what style of BBQ this was...especially since the menu had Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Tri-Tip, Sausage, and Brisket on it. Having worked and travelled thru some of the south during an earlier life, I was quickly educated on the BBQ of different regions. The guys working looked surprised when I asked, but quickly replied, "Mississippi style".

So, at least for me, unless it's Mississippi Smoked Pot Roast (it's really good, try it if you have a chance) it's basically pork products. I was tempted with pulled pork, but really was craving some ribs and rib tips, which is what I got. Speaking of what I got; the meal also gets you three sides.....aaah, the good 'ole "meat n' three" in spirit.

And also some (rather mediocre) corn bread.

 The rib and tips both had a very nice, deep, distinctive smoke ring and a decent, almost "crisp" if uneven bark.

The amount of run used on the baby backs made it really salty, though strangely, the amount on the rib tips were perfect. 

The rib tips were very tender, moist, with the porky flavor shining thru and was my favorite. If the baby backs weren't as salty; they would have been quite good as the meat came off the bone perfectly.

The sauce was on the sweeter side; though the spicy version had a good amount of spice. I really didn't use any of it for my ribs/tips.

As for the sides. Well, I had wanted Black Eyed Peas but they were out.

My favorite item was usually one of my least favorite' the Breen Beans. Can you tell why?

Yep, that's fatty pork parts in the beans. It added some good flavor. Also, as you can tell, unlike many versions the beans aren't overcooked and are tender, but still somewhat firm. I'm not a fan of mushy green beans....mushy peas maybe, but not green beans.

I thought the texture of the collard greens, usually one of my favorite items was good.

But this was much too salty and acidic. I also like a nice touch of smokiness in my collards which this lacked; perhaps it was shrouded by all that salt?

The Mac and Cheese was like one giant lump and not my favorite.

Still, not a bad start. And I'll try them out a again in a couple of weeks. It's a nice addition to the neighborhood and I hope they stick around. I enjoyed the BBQ from Joe's much more than other places that had opened (then closed in the area). It might be a good option if you're grabbing a cold one from Harland or Poseidon; or just looking for a picnic at Mission Bay across the freeway.

And sometimes, because I'm getting and such....these type of posts bring back blogging memories.

And also is a reminder that I need to start using the 'ol smoker again.

Anyway, if you check out Smokin' Joe's, let me know what you think.

Smokin' Joe's Soul Food Weekends at The Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110
Every other weekend (Fri - Sun) starting on August 5th

San Miguel de Allende (2022) - Lavanda Café, El Mirador, and Mercado de Artesanías

We had a bit of walking scheduled for our full day in San Miguel de Allende, so I thought getting a "good start" in terms of breakfast and caffeine was important. A few blocks from our accommodation was a place that I had read about named Lavanda Café. One of the key elements about this café was that they featured specialty coffees for the "coffee snob" in  the household along with some good looking breakfasts for yours truly. I had also read that the place gets pretty busy with folks waiting in line. So, we made it a point to get there by 815, 15 minutes before opening time. There were two parties already in line when we arrived.

Soon enough the place opened up. The folks working here were very warm and accommodating. We requested and got a table upstairs which was nice and relaxing; which seemed miles away from the busy dining room below.

Looking at the coffee list the Missus immediately found something She wanted.

And at 50$ MX - about $2.50/US, this is the cheapest Geisha we've ever got.

And while She thought it to be on the "weaker side" with regards to Geisha, I thought it was still a bargain.

As for me....well, the Missus "strongly recommended" that I try the Café Lavanda, a lavender based pour over.

I just didn't enjoy the strong floral tones in this.

The Missus wasn't very hungry so we decided to share one dish and went with the Cazuela (148 $MX - about $7.25/US).

    This was quite lovely and came with bread and butter. The egg was nice and perfectly done; still oozing with goodness, the rustic bacon was also quite good. The roasted tomatoes adding acidity and tangy touches. The red chili based "sauce" was rich but not overly spicy and we enjoyed the earthy mushrooms in the dish.

We enjoyed the service so much that we decided to return the next morning.

Lavanda Café de Especialidad
Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias 87, Zona Centro,
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

After breakfast we headed right uphill for about three-quarters of a mile. The view during the walk was quite stunning. We got up to Salida Real a Querétaro and to the lookout named El Mirador.

And while the view from El Mirador was quite nice, we actually enjoyed the view from the street on the way up more.

From here we headed north on Salida Real a Querétaro then took a left (downhill) at Capilla del Cavalio ("Calvary Chapel").

Whenever we passed a building with the gates open, we'd take a peek at the courtyards; some of which were stunning.

It was a nice little walk to the Mercado de Artesanías.

   This sprawling market is quite large with everything from jewelry to shawls to produce.

There seemed to be quite a few Ex-pats and tourists in the artisan portion. While the food, produce, and hot food areas seemed to have more locals.

We enjoyed our time visiting the market, but really didn't see anything that grabbed our attention. We also noticed that prices here were a bit higher than those in CDMX.

We weren't ready for our afternoon break yet and decided to make one more stop before getting some lunch......

Stay tuned!

Midweek Meanderings - Sunmerry, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, and Kitakata Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa, Palomino's #3 and Matador Mexican Grill "Under New Management"

It's amazing what you can find during one short drive. Here's what I noticed when I went to get some groceries and lunch from Nijiya. I took the "long way"; which meant starting on Clairemont Mesa, then down Convoy, then all the way down Linda Vista to Morena.

Here's what I saw.

Sunmerry, The Great Greek, and Kitakata Ramen Coming to Kearny Mesa:

Even though I haven't done a post on Sunmerry; a bakery chain from Taiwan, it's a must stop on our road trips North and during visits to Bistro Na's. We'll also stop in at the Rowland Heights location as well. For some reason, this past week, I mentioned that Sunmerry was opening somewhere near Convoy to the Missus, so She'd be able to get Her Pineapple Cake fix locally. I was thus instructed to find out the location. Finding the location was simple using our friend......Google. 

In the same strip mall as Costco Business and Target I saw three structures and this sign:

So, I got three for the price of one here.

The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, a small chain out of Nevada and Sunmerry will occupy one building.

7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

And Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai which according to Eater, originated in Fukushima in another.

8001 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111

Looks like I got a "three for one" here.....

Palomino's #3 "Under New Management":

I go to Nijiya so frequently that I usually just head on in and then back to my car without a glance; but today I noticed that the Taco Shop in the strip mall had a "Under New Management" sign. Which I believe means new ownership.

Cathy has done several posts on Palomino's #2, but not on this location. I last visited in the days BB ("before blogging").

3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

So maybe.....and no, I haven't tried Two Hands Corn Dog yet either.....

Matador Mexican Grill Reopening:

On my way back, heading down Linda Vista, I took a look at the spot that used to house Matador Mexican Grill which closed several months back and noticed they were reopening. Of course; it's under the ubiquitous "under new management".

I'd never been; though an ex-coworker of mine used to like the place.

5201 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92110

And under the you never know what you'll see label......

I noticed a bit of a crowd on the Convoy side of Jasmine as I stopped at the light. There were news teams and bit of a hubbub. While sitting at the light, I noticed someone holding a freeway sign. And then it became clear. I know that there was an effort to raise money for six "Convoy Asian Cultural District" signs and it looks like they've raised the money and the signs are done.

Good for them!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

A Takeout Revisit to EE Nami and "Paying the Price" for Online Ordering for Pick-up

I'd been craving some Tonkatsu from EE Nami for a while. And even though they they reopened at the beginning of June, I just couldn't find a good time to do takeout.

Finally, I had waited long enough and I decided to order the Pork Loin Katsu for dinner. Previously, at least when I last ordered at the end of 2020, prices didn't seem too crazy. But this time, when I looked at the online choices for pick-up the Pork Loin Katsu Combo the prices ranged from $26 to $31.50!!! What the heck? I took a look at EE Nami's website and the PDF takeout menu and the combo is now priced at $22..... Now the online prices do not include tip either. It's getting pretty crazy these days. Heck, I'd rather have EE Nami get that extra money as a tip....so I went and called in my order. Which, by the way was a fairly hefty $23.71 anyway.

I drove on over and I gotta say, the place is doing some good business as folks were waiting for tables outside so I didn't take any photos. My order was waiting when I arrived, I paid, added in cash to make it a straight $27.......let me quickly ask, are you tipping for takeout?

This is what I unpacked at home.

   So, first off, let me say that the former "weak link" in the combo, the miso soup, while still being kind of weak overall, was much better, less watery. The rice however was hard and very dry. So, perhaps it's not worth the extra three bucks for that? I can probably do better with what I have at home.

There was a smaller portion of the shredded cabbage and they've replaced the tofu with edamame; which wasn't a favorite of mine.

But of course, I didn't order this for the edamame, right?

    Man, the tonkatsu is the best I've had in a while, even better than on my previous takeout visits. Notice that the breading isn't falling off the pork loin, this tells me that it's been fried at a good temperature and time. The panko breading was crisp and light. The pork was so tender and moist. It was just so good. I've gotten used to the sweeter katsu sauce form EE Nami and use it sparingly.

I guess it's really worth the prices these days?

EE Nami Tonkatsu Izakaya
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Phone: (858) 246-6903
Hours:
Wed - Sun 1130 - 2pm, 530pm - 10pm
Closed Monday and Tuesday

El Zarape 10 (!!!) Years Later and a Walk Around University Heights

Recently I was thinking about areas that I hadn't been to in a while and University Heights came to mind. I couldn't recall the last time I was in the area.....at least not since Covid. So, on a recent weekend morning I decided to drop by and take a nice stroll.

I parked across from Trolley Barn Park and crossed the street.

In case you're wondering why this is called Trolley Barn Park.

This was the actual site of the Trolley Car Barn from 1913 - 1949.

While crossing the street, I realized that over the years I've driven by the park many times; but had never walked through the park. Well, this morning was as good a time as ever to do so!

I actually entered the park from Panorama Drive.

It was mid-morning and all the "activities" were just getting started......yoga...

Soccer for little "kiddies"....

The sidewalk has markings of the streets along the old trolley route.

There's an interesting marker that details the route of the trolley.

And there's also a very nice view of Mission Valley at the south end of the park.

    I'm sure you've noticed all the signage and artwork with ostriches in the University Heights area.

Do you know why?

Well, the area at the southern end of Park Boulevard was W. H. “Harvey” Bentley's Ostrich Farm; yes, for real! According to the University Heights Historical Society:

"In 1904, John D. Spreckels invited Harvey Bentley to relocate his ostrich farm from Coronado."

There's this gate which was the entrance to the ostrich farm.

And there's this sign, which I didn't recall seeing before. According to this post, the sign just went up in May of this year.

I also noticed the mention of "William Hilton's Silk Mill". It turns out that the structure that now houses Meraki Café was once the location of a silk mill!

Around this time, I decided to grab a bite. Over the last couple of months, I'd been wondering how some of the "old time" (to me) places that I hadn't visited in years were doing. So I decided to head on over to El Zarape. Now I knew that I hadn't been to El Zarape in a while; but man, it had been a decade since I last visited. And before that visit was a seven year gap! I knew that El Zarape currently opens at 10 in the morning on weekends, so I was fairly certain that I wouldn't have a problem placing a takeout order.

The layout and design looks basically the same as it did a decade ago......

As did the menu....with the hipster additions of "Beyond Meat"...and the other stuffs that I would never try like the "Aloha/Wasabi/Soy" burritos.

For old time's sake I ordered two of my "standards" from the old days; a Fish Taco and a Shrimp Taco. The gentleman working was very friendly and it was a short wait....I sat outside for my order. I then made the short walk back to Trolley Park to eat.

Opening things up....well, the tacos didn't look too promising.

Though I will say that the avocado sauce and salsa rojo taste exactly the same. Though I'm guessing that due to Covid precautions the old salsa bar is gone and now the sauces are served in containers.

The shrimp taco ($4.25) was less than pleasing.

   The shrimp was rubbery, the tortilla didn't hold up and fell to pieces after my second bite, even with a protective layer of cheese. This was just so very bland, I didn't expect the sweet-richness of wild caught shrimp, but this just had so little "shrimpiness"....take a look at what the shrimp taco looked like before.

It doesn't even look like it's from the same restaurant....though I guess a lot can change in a decade. 

It used to be that the Fish Taco at EZ was sort of a loss leader....it was still 99 cents in 2012! Now it's $2.50 which I think is a good price in this day and age. But the main question that came to mind when I looked at my taco was where's the fish????

It was just covered with a ton of cabbage, which was much more thickly sliced than before. As you can tell by the color, the fish had been fried too long; the batter had really darkened and the fish was dry.....though the crema and the avocado sauce helped things out a bit; the sliver of fish  made this more a cabbage taco with a garnish of fish.

I really didn't expect too much from EZ, but it seems that time hasn't been too kind to the tacos at El Zarape. It's kind of sad really, since there was a time when I thought the fish tacos here were delici-yoso, of course that was a very long time ago.

Still, I was quite sad.....

El Zarape
4642 Park Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92116
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 10pm
Fri - Sun 10am - 11pm

On the bright side of things, I did learn a bit about the history of University Heights.