mmm-yoso!!!

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Dinner at Kai and Caffeine Fix From WhereUBean Coffee (Phoenix)

We could have easily just headed home upon leaving Sedona, but I had one more overnight stop in mind. On this road trip, I had decided to bookend our travels with some more upscale meals. On the way to Zion we stopped in Las Vegas for dinner at Partage. On the way back home, I decided we should spend a night at the Sheraton at Wild Horse Pass and have dinner at Kai Restaurant, the only AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star restaurant in Arizona. Beyond those accolades, I was fascinated by the menu which is described as having "distinct interpretations of Native American cuisine using fresh local ingredients for elevated dining." I thought it would be a nice end to our road trip.

Upon checking in to this rather posh resort, we relaxed in our room.

We had a nice view. 

We got ready for dinner and left our room a bit early to do some shopping in the gift shop before heading off to the restaurant. With Covid measures in place, it seemed like reservations were staggered and until one third way through our meal, we were the only folks dining. The service, while discreet is definitely professional and polished; the Servers all knew our names, crumbs cleared off the table between every course, silverware changed, and still, the service wasn't hovering and did not feel stuffy in the least.

The decor is low-keyed, the walls festooned with the craft and artwork of the Pima and Maricopa Tribes and each menu has distinct artwork featured on it as well. I was told that the watercolor on my menu was of the Maricopa Butterfly Dance.

The meal is tasting menu only, with several choices for the "Birth", "Beginning", "The Journey", and the "Afterlife". We decided to share a wine pairing with dinner.

The Amuse was a very nice Sablefish wrapped in Basil Flower. The Olive Oil served with the bread was outstanding and we were told it was from Queen Creek Olive Mill.

As always, the Missus and I shared our course which would give us tastes of a good range of items.

The Escargot with Wild Mushroom was an interesting mix of textures, the truffle crema added some decadent touches to the dish. There was a bit more sweetness then I expected in this dish from the black garlic, bread, and the caramel goat cheese.

We both loved the "Pee-Posh Garden".

While it might have seemed to be a bit much when reading the ingredients on the menu, it was a symphony of textures and flavors, from the fermented white asparagus, to the crunchy and mildly sweet pecan "soil", to the pickled beets, nutty-sweet sunchoke puree, and buttery confit potatoes.

 I'm sure you know if foie gras is on the menu, we'd be ordering it, even with a $20 supplement. The fois gras was nicely seared, the interior nice and smooth, rich, earthy, though the roasted and compressed apple was perhaps a bit on the sweeter end of the spectrum for us.

The Pork Cheek and Crisp Belly was nice and "swiney". Perfectly done; the Anasazi Bean adding a nice, sweet-earthiness to the dish.

The mains...ummm "Journey" were prepared well, if a bit on the "standard" side.

The "Kachk", black cod with fennel puree was cooked well, nice and creamy. We appreciated the fact that the fennel puree did not overwhelm the dish.

This could have used a bit more aggressive seasoning in our opinion.

Kai's signature dish is the Grilled Tenderloin of Tribal Buffalo was cooked to a perfect medium rare.

It is of course buffalo....thus a bit on the "toothsome" side. A bit milder in flavor than what I expected, the corn puree and saguaro syrup made this a bit sweeter than I like as well.

The cheese plate was quite routine.

Dessert was served with some fanfare.....

Both desserts were outstanding and not overly sweet.

The Chocolate and Queen Creek Olives.

The Mousse "stones" where wonderful, so decadent and creamy inside, with the "hidden" olive cake adding a touch of savoriness, and the lemon foam had just enough cirtus-acidity for the dish.

The Cactus Melange was also stellar.

That Nopales and Lime sabayon was outstanding and it's really hard to describe the taste of the nopales sherbet.

We loved the parting gift.

Definitely not a inexpensive dinner at almost $600 with tip.

Kai
5594 W Wild Horse Pass Blvd. (At the Sheraton Grand At Wild Horse Pass)
Phoenix, AZ 85226

After dinner we took a stroll around the property.

The next morning we headed home; stopping for coffee and a light breakfast at WhereUBean Coffee.

Nice, relaxed coffee stop; really friendly staff. When I grabbed a Earl Grey cake for the Missus, the guy working pointed me to the "Happy Little Accident" discounted slice....he must've known how much I paid for dinner the previous night!

The Missus got a pour over and I an Americano....

And soon enough we were on our way.

WhereUBean Coffee
4804 E Chandler Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85048

It had been a fun road trip:

Starting with our first visit to Las Vegas in over 8 years.

And then to Zion, Angels Landing, and a Ghost Town.

Moving on to Mystery and Monument Valleys.

And I even got to do my best Forrest Gump impression and "Stand on a Corner".

We even got our "selfie" moment at a sandstone arch.

Thanks for coming along!

Iron Pig - A Takeout Revisit

The recent warm weather had the Missus craving takeout from Iron Pig. So I dropped by, placed an order, and then went to do a quick visit to Trader Joe's. My takeout was ready when I returned to Iron Pig. I had found parking nearby and everything just seemed hunky dory.

On my last post, I noted that the wings were dry and tough. Unfortunately, these were basically the same.

Large, meaty wings, but super dry and tough, and the large size meant that it was somewhat lacking in enough smokiness.

I also got the Rib Tips and specifically asked for sauce on the side. Sadly, this must have been lost in the translation.

Over-sauced and very salty......

Our favorite menu item over the years is the Man Salad...make that the Gender Neutral Salad. Which looked mighty appetizing.

Until we started eating....and started noticing something...hidden underneath all those fries and brisket.

All those brown and discolored greens. Sigh.......

I take no pleasure in typing this out and it's kind of sad to get a meal like this from a place that's been a favorite over the years. We understand that times are tough and are trying to support local businesses, but it seems like the appreciation is not being returned? Not quite sure what to make of this meal.....

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Circling Back to Main Chick Hot Chicken (Clairemont) and Golden City

I often say that I would not still be posting if not for all the folks who comment of our posts. The same can be said for all the great emails and recommendations I get. There's a whole group of folks who don't comment on our posts, but are thoughtful enough to send me emails with recommendations, observations, and really great comments. One of these folks is "ChrisR" who often has some pretty interesting and sometimes funny observations and recommendations. I look forward to his emails.

Hailing from the Big Island, Chris will often have the most interesting "Subject Lines" to his emails. Here are two of them and my subsequent revisits to those places.

"The last pretty good food bargain in San Diego?"

Actually, ChrisR was the reason that I visited Main Chick in the first place....I'm not one to follow fads and at that time it seemed that all these Hot Chicken shops were popping up everywhere. Having had some good Hot Chicken in Nashville during my consulting days; all of these shops fell short. Main Chick was no exception.

But, moving away from the Hot Chicken Sandwich; Chris had this to say about Main Chick:

"But there is still one bargain left: The leg-thigh quarter at Main Chick"

"Very juicy. Comes with the same spicy aioli as the dark meat sandwich. Gotten it several times in recent months."

Well, this location of Hot Chicken is less than three miles from our house, so why not try it out, right?

The young lady working was a joy and I liked that they have outdoor seating. I ordered it "Spicy" this time, instead of "Supreme" like I did last time. My heat tolerance has gone down in my old age.....

I was asked if I needed a "fork and knife"? Huh? This is still chicken, right? And I raised up my left hand and said "fork"; then my right saying "knife". The young lady cracked up. I did pay a small price for this as I will note later on.

I sat outside and opened my container and I have to say; in contrast to what I'd had before; chicken with burnt spots on it and such, this looked quite nice.

   Turning things over was a different story as it was pretty greasy. The meat was very moist, tender, and it had that flavor of dark meat chicken that I prefer. The batter was quite crunchy but the seasoning dust is pretty gritty, though quite spicy; but there's a lack of other flavors....at Hatties, I remember the chicken being very spicy, but it still had some smokiness, most likely from Paprika and even a hint of garlic tones.

Maybe I just need to order this with no spice next time? Though I recall the "naked version" being quite bland.

But, at least it was moist and tender. And at $5.75, Chris is right, these days it's a bargain.

And the chicken had the last laugh as I had a nice thrill when I removed my contact lenses that evening.

Main Chick Hot Chicken (In Clairemont Town Square)
4705 Clairemont Dr.
San Diego, CA 92117

Subject: Did Golden City hire a chef from Royal Mandarin?

Whoa, let's talk about how to get my attention!

"While I waited, a waitress (one who in the good old days automatically brought me a fork for years despite my never using it) brought out salt-and-pepper chicken wings twice that looked crisp and dry and had a good portion size for $13.

So the next weekend, I got the wings. I have had them two more times since.

As good as the Royal Mandarin, IMO".

Okay! Sold!

I went and did a takeout order from Golden City. To cover myself, I also ordered the Kwai Fei Chicken, which has been a favorite of mine for years. 

It did smell quite good in the car, better than a "new car fragrance" for sure. And I made the fifteen minute drive back to the office wondering if the wings would be looking like this:

Opening things up, the wings looked like this.

    Unfortunately, the batter of the wings didn't hold up well, much of it getting a bit mushy and flaking off. So, if you're ordering this, it's probably in your best interest to eat them ASAP....maybe even in the parking lot! Lot's of burnt garlic which was on the bitter side, though I enjoyed the spice. The flesh of the wings were nice and moist.

And to be perfectly honest; these were light years better than what I'd had from Golden City years back. So it does look like the wings have improved over time.

On a sad note; it seems like the Kwai Fei Chicken has gone downhill as well.

 The chicken really just tasted boiled lacking in the mild hints of anise-wine and devoid of any salt or mild ginger tones....just plain bland. The sauce provided had brown specks in it and tasted a bit rancid and off. The chicken while cooked nicely, just didn't taste right.

Man, what a bummer......where do I get my Kwai Fei Chicken from now? Maybe I need to revisit Eastern Dynasty?

Golden City Restaurant
5375 Kearny Villa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123

Regardless of my opinions, I want to make it clear that I really enjoy and treasure these emails. It gets me "out there" checking things out and keeps it "fresh". It's always fun hearing from all of you and I'm flattered that you would think of me when you have an interesting or enjoyable meal.

Thanks again ChrisR!

Sunday Stuffs - Flour Atelier, YikoYiko, and K-Food & Meat Coming to Kearny Mesa. The Bum Statue and Does Okeanos "Move You"?

Here are a couple of "coming soon" places I've seen while doing errands in Kearny Mesa:

Flour Atelier Coming to Hawthorne Crossings:

Aka, the Mitsuwa Marketplace Mall. Saw this when I went to pick some stuffs up recently.

Not sure why this caught my eye....probably the "Atelier" in the name.

Looks like this will be a specialty bakery.

4240 Kearny Mesa Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111

YikoYiko Coming to Mercury Village Shopping Center:

On a recent takeout visit to Sizzling Pot King, I noticed a sign for something called "YikoYiko" in Mercury Village Shopping Center (aka mall with the "Sign of Doom"), next to Chaba Thai.

Not quite sure what this is going to be....but it sure looks like a slice of cake or perhaps cheese?

Stay tuned!

8008 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

K-Food & Meat Replacing Dduriba:

I saw this earlier today when driving to Nijiya to do some shopping.

Dduriba lasted for quite a while....I'm guessing this is a small market/deli kind of thing?

4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

And from the "not about food files...."

Statue of Bum the Dog:

You know me and random "stuffs", right? I think things have escalated during these Covid times, though folks have called me a "Cesspool of Useless Information" for a good many years. A couple of months back, before our last trip, the Missus wanted takeout from Sovereign Thai. I had forgotten that there was a Padres game on that evening and the only parking I could find was way over on Island, near Fourth Avenue.

Well, at least it gave me a chance to check out a statue I'd been wanting to see. In the courtyard of Davis-Horton House, is the statue of Bum the Dog, who was a stow-away on a ship that arrived in San Diego in 1886. Bum became the unofficial mascot of San Diego with his exploits documented by James Edward Friend who documented many of Bum's exploits.

You'll notice that part of Bum's right leg is missing. During one of his explorations he was hit by a train which severed part of his leg.

This link has Bum's story. I'm posting this right now, because there's a "Edinburgh link" to it. Look for it in an upcoming post!

Getting to the Bottom of Okeanos:

**** Warning, you may not want to read this if you are eating...or even thinking about eating right now.

An acquaintance asked me where my office was located and I mentioned the area. His response was; "oh, are you located by the turd?" The turd?

And then I remembered this post by CC (hoping we get some new posts soon CC!). I decided to perform my "doo" diligence and find out where this was. And lo' and behold, it was a couple of miles from our offices, so  I decided to "drop" by on my way home. And yes, there on the corner of John Jay Hopkins Drive and General Atomic Court was the sculpture that was supposed to resemble:

"a rippling curve that seems to spew out of the earth and curl up like a wave"

You be the judge.

It was commissioned in 1987 by Scripps Green Hospital for $200k from artist William Tucker. It was then completed and put into place in front of Scripps Green. Apparently, after years of ridicule and earning the nickname the "Scripps Turd", Scripps paid another $40k to have it, ahem..."moved" to location "number two". Where it was dumped stands in "relief" today. And if you want to "grab a stool" and check it out; its on the corner of John Jay Hopkins Drive and General Atomic Court.

Where you can also find this sign....

More fun reading if you feel like it.

Sorry for all the "cheeky" humor and "Dad Jokes", but after all, it's Father's Day, right?

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dad's out there!

Edinburgh (2022) - A Walk Around the New Town and Dinner at Devil's Advocate

Our flight from Paris to Edinburgh left and arrived on time, something that is often not the norm in this day and age. We'd be spending one evening in the city before our driver would be picking us up for a private tour. We'd be staying on York Place which was quite convenient, since the last stop of the airport tram is on St Andrew Square. From there it was a short walk to our hotel.

Once we settled in....well, the Missus was ready to do a bit of exploring, so we headed out.

The really friendly folks at the hotel suggested that we take Leith Street over to Princes Street and take a walk in the New Town. 

The first thing that struck us was all the signs and "stories"....it seemed that every corner, crook, and building had one!

And there seemed to be monuments on every block.

I read that there are over 200 monuments in Edinburgh alone!

That's the statue of the Duke of Wellington below, in front of the National Archives, which was unveiled in 1852 to mark the anniversary of Wellington helping to lead the armies of the Seventh Coalition to victory over Napoleon at Waterloo.

We decided to just walk along Princes Street and the huge Princes Street Garden which was created by the draining of Nor Loch and was completed in 1820.

We could see the towering spire of the Scott Monument, the second largest monument to a writer in the world. I'm sure folks my age would have had to read one of the classics by Sir Walter Scott in school. I recall reading Ivanhoe.

It's quite amazing to see places like this....they have a way of bringing history "alive" for me.

And of course one cannot ignore all of the classic architecture, like the Jenners Building.

Which housed the Jenner Department Store, which sadly closed permanently in December 2020 partially due to the Covid lockdown. I recently read that the department store will be renovated and hopefully reopen in 2025.

The views along Princes Street of Edinburgh Castle are quite stunning.

As are those of the gardens below.

This is the Royal Scots Grey Memorial.

There was one memorial that I had on my list, so we entered the park, passing the Scottish American War Memorial.

The inscription reads:

"The Call 1914. A Tribute From Men and Women of Scottish Blood and Sympathies In the United States of America to Scotland. A People that jeoparded their lives unto the Death in the High Places of the Field."

Right pass that was the monument I wanted to see.

This is the statue of Wojtek the Bear, whose story I read years ago. In short Wojtek was purchased as a cub in Iran by soldiers of the Polish army. He was trained to transport ammunition and other supplies. Because pets were not allowed and to make sure he got rations, he was given the rank of private in the Polish army. Eventually, he was promoted to corporal!

So, why is his statue now in Edinburgh? Well, in 1945 his Company was moved to Scotland....and so was he. In the end, he lived out his years in the Edinburgh Zoo. You know I love stuff like this, right?

   Soon it was getting close to our dinner time, so I had to find the "close" where our dinner destination was located. We headed down the Mound and onto the Royal Mile and High Street. Right across St Giles' Cathedral (photo above which I'll cover in a future post), is Advocate's Close an alleyway with wonderful views. There's something somewhat dark and mysterious about these narrow streets. I'd come to learn the difference between a a Close and a Wynd during our stay in Edinburgh.

Down this narrow street is a Gastropub/Restaurant named the Devil's Advocate, which I'd made reservations at. We found the place; but then, we had to actually find the entrance....and this wasn't it.

 Folks inside waved us to the actual entrance where we were greeted by a Hostess.....people in Edinburgh and Scotland for that matter, were so very friendly....really fun and nice. We were led to a table on the upper level. Where we were seated and handed menus. The place is dark and somewhat funky....but what do you expect here! After all, who knows who walked along the path in this close? It might have been the "real" Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde or perhaps even Burke and Hare! One's imagination can run wild!

The menu seemed kind of what I'd call "hipster - Scottish"....or perhaps more politically correct, modern gastropub fare? We placed our order and as is the way we do things, we went with mostly items off the 'Starters' and 'Sharing' portion of the menu. Like I've said many times before, these dishes seem to be the most interesting.

I'd been really wanting to try some Haggis....and really couldn't wait. So the first dish up was the Crispy Black Haggis (£8 - about $10 at time of visit).

It looks so "gastro-pubby" don't you think. It was perfectly fried, but was bland and doughy.......folks I know had always made so much of haggis, but this was so mild in flavor, I was sure that this wasn't what they were talking about, right?

Next up was the Confit Pork Belly (£9.5 - about $11.50)

So, I think it's time for a reality check here.....when we visited, with the exchange rate, this was like $11.50. Can you imagine that? The pork belly was a bit over-fried, though the interior was nice and buttery. Both the Missus and I loved the celeriac remoulade, which was crisp and refreshing.

And then came the dish that made the dinner. We ordered a "small portion" of the Smoked Fish Platter (£14 - about $17.50/US). Could you imagine getting this for less than twenty bucks?

Oh man, this was so delici-yoso.....and drove our decisions during our entire stay in Scotland. Salmon smoked two ways; I gotta say, both the hot smoked, more buttery and rich and the cold smoked, great texture and wonderful on bread have an appeal. The smoked mussels were wonderful, the perfect balance of smokiness, great , almost buttery texture, the brininess adds character. The capers and cornichons provided relief and refreshment....this was so good! 

And of course I had to have some "chips". The variety here were with truffle and parmesan ( £5 - about $6.25 on our visit).

Ok, so let's be real about this. Twice cooked, crisp on the exterior, creamy interior.........flakes of truffle......really. We loved the flavor of potatoes in Scotland; there's an inherent sweet-starchiness to it.

And our meal here was a nice start to our trip!

Devil's Advocate
9 Advocates Close
Edinburgh, Scotland

Thanks for stopping by!

El Viejon Seafood

Back in June of last year; I noticed that the Korean Hot Dog place in the strip mall where Dumpling Inn ummm, Shanghai Saloon is located was gone and was being replaced with what looked like a Mariscos place named El Viejon. I was quite interested after reading the Eater post. Though it did take me a while to actually visit. After finally deciding to check the place out in February, I was happy to see that they did online orders. I'm not really fond of that parking lot, especially now, with all the spaces seemingly reserved for specific shops and the other stalls, behind Jasmine now being paid parking - on one of my visits I actually saw a car being towed! And the lot was empty except for that one vehicle!

Pick up was a breeze and the folks here are quite friendly.

I had ordered two of my "go-to" items with regards to Mariscos Tacos; a Smoked Fish (Tacos de Marlyn - $7) and a Gobernador ($7). The tacos were pretty hefty.

 The smoked fish taco was pretty good....I had read in the Eater post that items had a "Asian" touch....I figure in the case of these tacos, it was the sesame seeds? Anyway, the fish was nice and moist, smoky, good savory hints, no off flavors, and the tortillas held up well. The cabbage added textural contrast and a touch of sweetness. 

The Gobernador on the other hand was not a favorite of mine. In fact, it was mostly fried onions....

What shrimp there was in the taco were really tough. This really needed some help, but unfortunately, perhaps it was my fault, there was no salsa in my take-out order. Maybe I should have asked?

Still, that smoked fish was quite good and while El Viejon was a Mariscos place, I had noticed something that I thought was decently priced on the menu.

The 2 Birria Tacos with Broth was $10. So, a couple of weeks later I placed another online order. Which was again ready for pick-up when I arrived. The young lady working was very nice and her little daughter was adorable.

   This was actually pretty good; I mean it ain't Fernandez, but what is? The beef was much more tender than it looked, good savory beefiness, touch of tangy-sour. The tortillas held up well, this was actually better then other versions I've had recently.

The consommé was a surprise as it had a basic mirepoix in it. It was really quite substantial, beefy, mildly spicy, it made for a nice "soup" on its own with a squeeze or two of lime to cut the mild greasiness of it.

I was quite surprised and pleased.

Funny thing was, the young lady had packed salsas in my bag....even though this time it really wasn't needed!

After this visit, I had meant to do a post, but for some reason I didn't. Then February turned into March, which turned into April. During a warm spell the Missus thought it might be a good idea to get some ceviche, so I suggested a visit to El Viejon.

We decided to go at an off hour; so parking wouldn't be a hassle and there wouldn't be many customers and we hit the jackpot, we were the only ones in the place and took that table waaaay in the back by the mural.

After a look at the menu, the Missus decided on what to order; I had thought that for sure She'd want the smoked fish taco, but She decided on a surprise item.

We started off with the Shrimp Ceviche ($15). 

 There was a generous amount of shrimp in this; but we both thought this was a bit lacking in overall flavor and was really too salty. The texture of the shrimp was fine.

The next item up was the "surprise". The Missus seemed to be in the mood for something "fried", so we ordered the "Las Fries" ($18). Man, the portion size was huge. And for some reason, we really enjoyed this.

The fries were crisp, full of potato-ey goodness. On this palette the mildly spicy Mariscos Thousand Islandy type sauce did quite good as did the crisp fried onions, which combined with the variety of seafood in the bowl. Our favorite items were the smoked fish (of course), which was so very good with the fries and fried onions and the shrimp which were plump and perfectly cooked. The pulpo was fine and the dusting of cheese added a pleasant dimension of milky saltiness to things. Of course we couldn't finish this and the Missus had to hose me down when we got home, but the leftovers did well in a pseudo frittata the next day.

We loved the presentation of the Aguachile (half order - $15) which was served in a Molcajete whose edges were dusted with Tajin.

   We got this with the "verde", the green sauce which was tangy and tart, a perfect foil for the spice. Loved the avocado which helped to quell whatever heat evolved from the dish, the cucumbers added a nice, crisp and "chlorophyllic" touch to the dish. The shrimp had spent the perfect amount of time in the sauce, being just toothsome enough. We'd have this again!

This meal was a pleasant surprise for the Missus. In fact, She started calling Les Fries, "stoner fries"....and we've actually ordered it for takeout once. We ate it in our backyard and really enjoyed it. I don't think we can have it very often.....but every once in a while it'll be  a nice guilty pleasure. And they open early and straight thru so we can get in during off hours if we want to dine in.

El Viejon Seafood
4619 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours:
Mondays 9am - 3pm
Tues - Sun 9am - 9pm

Circling Back to Tu Thanh

A few weeks back, the Missus was craving Her favorite Bun Rieu, so I went to pick some up. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I was told that there was at least an hour wait for the Bun Rieu. I suddenly had an idea; I placed my order and decided to push my luck and see if I could find parking near Tu Thanh. I had tried to grab my favorite Bun Mang Vit in San Diego from Tu Thanh during the previous month, but there was no parking to be found within 4-5 blocks, so I ended up at "plan B" 777 Noodle House. Still my craving for Bun Mang Vit went unabated.

Well, I guess it was my lucky day, I found parking half a block away and greedily headed to Tu Thanh.

These days Tu Thanh opens at 9 and I arrived at 930 and there were no customers in the place.

Not sure what the drill is these days; I went up to the window and placed my order.

 And then went and sat at a table. I took a look around the room and quickly noticed at the pile of children's toys stacked up on a freezer. I guess Covid has meant that there had to be options in place if childcare and school is not available?

As I waited for my noodle soup my mind wandered......Tu Thanh is one of those "places" that I have been going to for ages. Well, sort of; you see, back in 2006, I used to go to A Chinese Fast-Food shop...well, sort of a Chinese Fast Food Shop named Chinese Kitchen. Along with the Fried Rice, Chow Mein, and other "standards", none of which I ever tried, there was a menu posted with Vietnamese Specialties. In fact, the other name the place was known as was "Chi Tu Thanh Nha Hang". Then nearly 7 years later, Tu Thanh's namesake restaurant opened and I've been going there ever since.

Soon enough the Nuoc Mam Gung and my eating utensils arrived. The utensils were delivered in a little basket. I'm guessing with Covid, they don't just lay out the eating implements on tables anymore.

The look and the fragrance of the Nuoc Mam Gung was comforting. Back in March of 2021 I'd done take out from Tu Thanh and the sauce was lacking in garlic and ginger and was much too sweet. This was return to what I expected and enjoyed.

   My noodle soup and duck arrived. Over time, I'd resigned myself to the fact that banana blossom was no longer included with the Bun Mang Vit. Also, the quantity of dried bamboo shoot has gone down gradually over the years, reducing the amount of earthy tones in the broth. And I'm sure that ever rising costs and Covid supply chain issues have had an affect as well.

Still, on this day at least, the noodles were perfectly firm enough and slippery, the broth was nicely flavored, not overly MSG heavy. The broth does get better as the meal goes along because of the way I eat the duck with this dish. And that gingery-garlicky-savory-mildly sweet sauce was on point.

The duck was sliced to a good thinness for the dish, had a good toothsomeness, and was oh so "ducky" if you know what I mean.

   As for how I eat this; well that's been that's been documented in earlier posts:

"Chi Tu Thanh taught me to eat things this way years ago. For the duck; I dip it in the broth...it warms it up a bit (a good study in temperature and flavor) and in the end adds a bit of flavor to the broth; it then gets a dunk in the sauce, which livens things up. The veggies get the same....what ever escapes adds to the flavor of the rather neutral flavored broth. A dunk in the steaming broth (as it was this day) changes the texture of the herbs a vegetables and whatever escapes adds to the flavor of the broth...those stray veggies do eventually get a dip in the sauce as well."

And over the meal, because I let the bamboo shoots steep in the hot broth, the flavor gets better and better.

And yes, it's not as amazing as it used to be; but it's still darn good!

Funny thing, the young lady who I ordered from initially spoke to me in Vietnamese and was a bit surprised that I didn't speak that language. As I paid at the register she asked me how I enjoyed my meal and then asked me how I had heard of Tu Thanh. I told her that even though I'm not a regular customer, I've been eating the Bun Mang Vit from the days of Chinese Kitchen. Which got quite a funny, surprised look from her.

And yes, I am so very thankful that places like Tu Thanh, Minh Ky, Phuong Nga, and Mien Trung are still around for us to enjoy. And hopefully will be around for many more years!

Tu Thanh
4804 University Ave. #A
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Thurs - Tues 9am - 7pm
Closed on Wednesday

Roadtrip (During Covid) - Elote Cafe and the Devils Bridge Trail (Sedona)

After doing the Oak Creek Trail, the Missus and I picked up some stuffs from Whole Foods and had a simple lunch. By dinner time; well, I was ready for some "grindz". Luckily, our dinner destination was basically right around the corner from our accommodations. Even more lucky....I'd made reservations for dinner as there was already a line when we got to the place at 5pm! Our reservations were for 515! I pity the folks with no reservations.

We worked our way down the reservations line and got a nice table with some good distance from other folks. The service here was more friendly and things seemed much more laid back than dinner the night before.

The Missus really loved the chips here! In fact, She cleaned it out pretty quickly and our friendly Server quickly got us more!

After the days hike I was pretty darn hungry, so we actually ordered three apps and two mains!

And since this place is named "Elote" (corn)....well you know what our starters revolved around, right?

Things started with the Elote ($11).

There was a bit too much mayo in this, which nullified the sweet-smokiness of the fire roasted corn.

Next up the Huitlacoche Corn Soup (a small - $8).

You could really make out the corn here! Nice sweetness, the chili de arbol powder added some nice heat to the dish. Not enough huitlacoche to really make much of an impact in our opinion.

Sweet Corn Salad ($12).

We enjoyed the Chipotle Vinaigrette and this was nice and refreshing, but again it was kind of short in the elote department. But not bad overall.

We had explained that we'd like to dine "family style" and the folks here cheerfully accommodated us with separate plates and even plate changes! Great staff.

The Duck Carnitas ($29) was bit more chewy and fatty then I had anticipated.

Pasilla chilies, which have a nice fruitiness was a nice match and the guacamole really helped to refresh the palate cutting thru the richness of the dish.

The Smoked Pork Cheeks ($28) was my favorite dish of the evening.

The pork was indeed smoky and the texture was good, not falling apart but quite tender. And this part of the swine has a wonderful porkiness. I wasn't sure about the buttermilk-cumin drizzle, but it worked well in this framework, a bit of acidity, nice earthiness. I also enjoyed the cascabel chili sauce, a nice nutty-earthiness.

Overall this was an enjoyable meal, the service brought it up a notch.

Elote Cafe
350 Jordan Rd.
Sedona, AZ 86336

The next morning the Missus wanted to do one more hike on our way out of Sedona. She wanted to hike to the Devil's Bridge. During Her previous previous visit, the Devil's Bridge was packed with the "selfie crowd" and She never got to walk out onto it. And se we headed on over. Even though it was December, the parking lot was already filled when we arrived. A really nice guy in a brand new Corvette had parked....he saw us, waved and moved up to make room for us to park! What a nice guy!

The trail, other than the last portion up to the bridge is flat and easy to navigate. And you get really nice views of the Sedona "Red Rocks".

And when we arrived at the Devil's Bridge, there was only one couple ahead of us.

  And that couple was the folks from that new yellow Corvette. We were just going to take a stroll on the Devil's Bridge and maybe do a selfie. But the really nice guy told me; "I'm going to rest here a while, so why don't you walk on over and I'll take a picture of you!" And he didn't take just one photo, but an entire set! You know, people like him really do make travels just so much better!

And so, our time in Sedona was up.

But there was one more stop for us left!

Stay tuned!