mmm-yoso!!!

The Roxy Restaurant, Cafe and Bar- Encinitas

Welcome (back) to mmm-yoso!!!, the food blog.  Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy anticipating a time to relax. Cathy found that time and is sharing a food adventure today.

A few weeks ago, The Mister and I drove North on Highway 101 along some of the 60 miles of San Diego County coastline, enjoying where we live. 

We had worked up an appetite while getting in some walking and stopped when we got to the Encinitas sign.

We had parked just across the street from the restaurant which provides my favorite San Diego County Fair food fix-  

I've posted that this was the one booth we must stop at every year.

This year, we did go to the Fair several times and got both the falafel burger ...

as well as an artichoke sandwich. Both of these sandwiches are on the menu at the Restaurant and the price is the same as at the Fair!

We stepped into Roxy's just before it started to get crowded and chose a table on the North half of the restaurant.

After reading the mainly vegetarian menu (some dishes are made with chicken, squid or fish) I decided to try a cup of the 'everyday' soup ($3)- Bean Soup, made with lentils, soy and pinto beans. The spices made this taste like a good chili and I really liked it.  The soup was served with a piece of toast...the same bread that's used for the Fair sandwiches.  (I found out it is The Baker's Wife from Bosch Baking bread brand, made in San Marcos and available at some of the weekly farmer's markets and sold in the grocery part of the Tip Top Meats store.)

I selected the avocado burrito ($7.99). A very large whole wheat tortilla with cheese, onion and olive melted onto the tortilla,

which was then filled with at least two smashed avocadoes, lettuce and tomato.  This was served with a good, spicy salsa and a very large lettuce, spinach, cabbage, tomato, broccoli and cauliflower 'side' salad. So very fresh, tasty and filling.   

The Mister ordered the Fish and Chips, one of the white board specials that day ($7.99, regular $8.99).  This was four large pieces of excellent fried fish (probably tilapia) served on top of a pile of quite memorable, thin cut, perfectly cooked fries with an absolutely wonderful house made tartar sauce.

On the South side of the restaurant is a small area where ice cream is sold.  It is Niederfrank's, a National City based company (which I posted about in 2007). I can foresee taking another few drives on the 101 before the 2013 San Diego County Fair  to try out more of the menu at Roxy's.

It's Friday! Enjoy your weekend.

The Roxy Restaurant 517 Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 (760) 436-5001 Mon-Sat 11:00 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Website

Caffé Calabria (North Park, San Diego)

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog.  It's a food blog.  We (Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy, in a varying rotation) write about the who, what, when, where, why and how (in varying combinations) with a central focus on food. Cathy is writing today.

A few weeks ago, fellow blogger, cc and I met for lunch, which needed to be rearranged  (here is a link to her post; my post will appear soon enough) and after a very nice lunch, we drove on 30th, to just North of University to Caffé Calabria for refreshing beverages.

You'll probably notice this fabric signage first.  We walked in, noticed the wood fired pizza oven

which only bakes thin crust/Neapolitan style pizza (and calzones) after 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

You can select from a variety of available sandwiches, made on baguettes, foccacia or small rolls, 

which will be heated for you if you'd like.

You can see one panino press to the right on the back counter; there are three total.

This is the view of the barista area from our table, 

which was right in front of the coffee roaster, which was not roasting coffee when we were here.   I would like to experience the smell of fresh-fresh roasted coffee.  Many San Diego restaurants serve Caffé Calabria coffees, which I have always enjoyed. 

Our order- a large iced mocha and a doppio macchiatto.  The mocha -chocolate and espresso- was good and had enough caffiene to make cc hyper for most of the evening. The double shot of espresso topped with a 'kiss' of milk foam was deep flavored yet I could detect a sweetness to the steam pressured coffee without having to add any sugar.

Obsessing about what cc and I had experienced, I brought The Mister back for a quick snack the other day.

He ordered a "Hammerhead"- regular coffee with a shot of espresso ($2.50)- and I ordered another doppio macchiato ($2.60).

We also decided on two items available in the counter, which I asked to have warmed.

The Prosciutto Cotto ($3.25)-rosemary ham topped with Fontina cheese and black pepper.  This was so good! There was quite a lot of ham, just enough cheese and the warming on the press made the fresh bread crust crispy on the outside, but the crust is thin and the bread was warm and soft on the inside. This was a perfect size for the two of us to share...

because The Mister had ordered this-a dolce-sweet. Nuttela con nocciola ($1.50)-chocolate hazelnut spread topped with chopped hazelnuts.  As you can see, it was served on a small roll (with the same thin crust as the baguette) topped with powdered sugar.  The nicest antithesis of a donut, ever.

I am sure we will be returning to Caffé Calabria to try the pizza and other available sandwich items. There are several other places in this old San Diego neighborhood which we found by simply walking around the block. I want to explore.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Caffé Calabria 3933 30th Street San DIego 92104  (619) 291-1759 Website

Paris Baguette (inside H Mart)

You have navigated your way to mmm-yoso!!!, the blog about food.  Today, Kirk as well as ed(from Yuma) are each doing something that requires focus.  Cathy is multitasking, so here's a blog post.

I think we all know that the San Diego location of H Mart opened on November 17 -less than two weeks ago. In case anyone didn't know, I will do just about anything to avoid crowds.  Therefore The Mister and I decided to wait until things slowed down to shop and check out offerings. The day after Thanksgiving was that perfect day.

Yes, there were empty parking spots at 10 a.m..

H Mart,  a Korean Market, has great deals on fruits, vegetables, panchan, kim chee, meats and fish. Everything is fresh and clean. We were very happy walking around while being able to push our shopping cart and not having to navigate around and between shoppers and their carts.  When we got to the far end of the store, next to the exit door, we saw the signage- 

Similar to other H Marts and Korean Markets in general, you can observe the workers behind glass.

In typical Korean bakery fashion, grab a tray, top it with a paper liner, grab tongs and select your choices from behind and on top of glassed doored cases, stand in line, order beverages and pay.  

On this visit, we picked out a good snack of sweets selection. 

The round 'donut' ($1) was a very large rice ball/mochi, filled with smooth pumpkin and deep fried. It collapsed when we cut it, but biting into it can give you a cross section view.  It was really good and quite large. The almond pastry - basically a croissant ($1.90)- was so light and flaky with crispy almond slices and had a good amount of almond paste filling. The other pastry (listed as a 'one bite' on the receipt, for $1, but on the display had $1.25 as the price) was essentially a puff pastry cup filled with delicious custard and topped with an apricot half.  So good-each flavor distinguishable and the various textures made this a perfect snack item.

So, after we got home, there were daily discussions of which items at Paris Baguette  we wanted to try and when we we went at around 2 p.m. on a weekday, there was zero parking in the lot in front of H Mart and only a few spaces in the back parking lot.  However, hunger and curiosity won out and there were new sales inside the store and a few cart navigation incidents, but once I got to the far side of the store, Paris Baguette wasn't overly busy and I chose a good variety of items for a late lunch. The 4 box of baby chox ($2) was a perfect, soft version of choux pastry filled with real whipped cream which managed to make its way home.

The ham and cheese croissant ($2.25) was a perfect light and flaky pastry filled with just enough ham and cheese to make this sandwich an easy choice in the future. The other item in the above photo is a canele ($1.80) which I haven't seen around here.  There was a nice story board on the counter telling that canele was first made in Bordeaux, where the wines are clarified with egg white, leaving yolks behind...

which are used to make the custard filling of this small, dense, caramelized cake. It is unique and wonderful.

The "Crunch Sandwich" ($5.95) which we found in the refrigerator section was very interesting.  The package was heavy and ingredients listed are chicken salad, green leaf lettuce, honey mustard  and pan croissant. The chicken salad was very nice, made with onion, walnuts and dried cranberries and wrapped in the 'pan croissant' which was a surprisingly nice, dense and chewy flat bread/flat croissant.

We've liked the food and service here and my only criticism is that the line where you wait to pay is along the the coffee, condiment/supplies and trash bins, which makes it awkward to get to the half and half/napkins/forks and knives or to clean your table when you leave. 

Paris Baguette is a franchise and another location will be opening inside the new location of Zion Market on Clairmont Mesa and Convoy, when Zion opens (probably in January).

Paris Baguette (Inside H Mart) 9440 Mira Mesa Boulevard San Diego 92126 website

The hot beverage cups are cardboard covered in foam and don't need a cardboard 'sleeve'.  I've brought both home and am going to use them for something...just pretty...

 

Crazee Burger

Well, I've often often written about the Missus's various short term obsessions. We've gone through quite a few over the years. The latest for the Missus is wild game.....I guess She really enjoyed that ostrich thinga-majiggy. The Lion's Share and Tractor Room quickly come to mind....but the Missus really wasn't into brunch or cocktails........ so I casually mentioned Crazee Burger. To be honest, I've always thought the place a bit more hype, with the game meats more of a gimmick. But heck, the Missus was game (no pun intended) so why not? We did luck out and arrived at 11am to find the place empty. it can get pretty crowded here.

We each ordered our burgers......of course we were told, as it seems to be fashionable these days, the "we recommend our burger cooked pink." Which is just perfect for me. We got our sauces on the side....after all, we wanted to taste the meat right?

And heck I'd always wanted a hopper to try kangaroo, which is what I got ($12.95):

The was pretty dry and gritty....it was also well done, so much for the "we serve our burgers medium" shtick, which is kind of a pet peeve. This was very mild with an off tasting, slight metallic after taste. The creamed horseradish sauce....was neither creamy, nor did it really taste of horseradish. Rather, it was like runny mayonnaise. This was also not seasoned, which it could have used.....some good salt and pepper, not what tasted like iodized stuff in the shaker on the table.

Now I'm determined to buy some kangaroo next time to see how it compares.

The Missus got an ostrich burger ($13.49), which did remind me of my previous experience with ostrich....that is, a bit on the dry side.

The flavor was clean, but again, this could have used some seasoning. The sauce provided, a lemon-chive-cream sauce was a bit better than the horseradish sauce, but still too bland and runny for me. This was also served "well done".

I explained to the Missus that based on my previous experience with ostrich, I expected dry, so when I made my burger, I added some minced red onion, a couple of tablespoons of panko, fresh ground black pepper, and roasted garlic olive oil. I tried to keep the mild clean taste of ostrich, but worked at keeping moisture as well. These patties looked like 100% meat.....the thought is nice, but man it can be dry.

In terms of prices, even though the burgers were no-frills, wild game is more expensive than beef. A regular 100% angus beef plain burger will just set you back five bucks here. The portion sizes are nice. There are about 8 draft beers on tap and several bottled....the interior is rather small and it was starting to get pretty crowded when we left. Two young ladies were nice....you order at the counter and they'll bring your order to your table. Overall, not terrible, but not all that great....the game meats seem more like a gimmick.......

Crazee Burger
4201 30th St
San Diego, CA 92104

Thanksgiving Brunch: Sea Harbour - Rosemead (Los Angeles)

This year we decided to dust off an old tradition, one we'd put away into the closet over 5-6 years back and grab some dim sum on Thanksgiving day. Over the years we've become less satisfied with the inconsistent and plain low quality of the dim sum in San Diego. Instead, we opted to drive to our favorite place for dim sum Sea Harbour. We made really great time on our trip to the SGV, having time to grab some roast duck for dinner (a later post) before arriving at the doors to the restaurant about 10 minutes before opening. Sea Harbour is one of those places with an eternal line during weekends and holidays, you either get there early, or try to time the first major turnover of tables.

On this day, the line dictated a major seating effort and the place was at full capacity ten minutes past ten.

Service was bit confused at first and while not exactly the most friendly, much better than Shanghai No. 1, where the asking of the most simplest question (like, "could I have a menu?), would cause them to give us a pained look like Dr Szell had been working on them for a couple of hours, "Oh, don't worry. I'm not going into that cavity. That nerve's already dying. A live, freshly-cut nerve is infinitely more sensitive. So I'll just drill into a healthy tooth until I reach the pulp." You almost thought they were trained here. 'Nuff said......

For some reason the Missus wanted some Gailan.....

They obviously brush some oil on it to give this poached vegetable some sheen. As gailan goes, this was fine, but I thought the oyster sauce was very good.

We usually go fairly light and at Sea Harbour go primarily with seafood. The hargow was good, nicely pleated, the wrappers not too think nor too sticky.

The shrimp were plump and cooked well...my only complaint were that these were perhaps too big, you couldn't eat them in a single bite. Which I guess is not much of a complaint at all.

I loved the Shrimp, dried scallops, and Chinese celery dumplings on our previous visits. These did not disappoint.

Nice wrappers, not too sticky, the savory flavor of the shrimp and dried scallops, with a nice textural counterpoint and the palate cleansing flavor of the Chinese celery. Still a favorite.

We always try something new when we visit Sea Harbour. On this visit it was the Radish Cake with XO Sauce. We usually avoid ordering these because we make it at home, but the allure of the XO sauce could not be avoided. This dish totally changed our opinion of Radish/Turnip Cake.

There were huge pieces of daikon in these, not shreds, that literally melted in your mouth! The texture was excellent. The XO sauce wasn't artificially salty and just added a touch of spice, with a nice savory touch. But those tender chunks of radish cake....I'm sure we'll be having those again.

The clunker of the day....and there always seems to be one, was the vegetarian Black Fungus and Celery Dumpling.

Nice textures, but pretty bland.

I was looking forward to trying the Egg Tofu in Abalone Sauce.

Loved the texture of the egg tofu, the sauce was pretty mild though.

At this point, we were satisfied but waiting on one item. We asked one of the gentlemen about it and he efficiently went to check the kitchen and told us "exact, three minutes"...and about three and a half minutes later our Pan Grilled Spinach Pork Bun. The Missus thinks this is too sweet, but I usually love the flavors. Today, I was less then satisfied with the dough which had the texture of dough where steam had escaped leaving it on the harder, waterlogged side.

I still enjoyed the filling, so I'll just have to wait until our next visit to see......

 Overall, our tab came to about $35. Which may be expensive if you dim sum in LA, but not so much if you've had it in San Diego recently. Plus, there's nothing here that comes remotely close to this in quality, prep, and flavor.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

We made two more stops before heading home; first to Tianjin Bistro for some "day after" suan cai yang rou, then the market for some supplies. We had smooth sailing until the 5/405 merge...after that it was pure murder until we hit Carlsbad, where traffic suddenly dissapated.....very strange!

Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!

Recently Consumed: Ostrich Patties with Bacon and Poached Egg, Merguez, Sriracha-Honey-Garlic Wings, and other stuff

Here's some of the stuff we've been cooking over the last week.

Ostrich Patties with Bacon and Poached Egg:

We stopped by Seisel's and while I was buying calves liver for Da' Boyz, the Missus brought me a package from Seisel's "Frozen Protein Zoo". This time it was ostrich..... this one was going to be fairly straight forward, the Missus wanted simple pan fried "burgers" to have with bacon and poached eggs. I told Her that my one previous experience with Ostrich was that it was D-R-Y. But the Missus doesn't mind dry....so I went ahead and made some ostrich patties. Red onions, a bit of panko, roasted garlic olive oil, granulated garlic, fresh ground pepper, and sea salt. I pan fried these in bacon fat, trying to save every little bit of moisture. I turned out to be dead wrong....man this was moist and tender. And the Missus loved it! I had mine on rice, loco moco style with a light pan sauce......man, this was really good.

The flavor wasn't very exotic....think clean-beefy without a bovine aftertaste.

The Missus had Hers paradoxical new age style.......on quinoa, but with bacon and poached eggs (cage free vegetarian of course...sheesh!).

She actually ate the leftover patty, making a sort of "dirty rice" with kale and quinoa......

Merguez Sandwich:

I went to Whole Paycheck with the Missus and was checking out the meat department, when I noticed they had Merguez! I guess it's one of the standard items they carry. Merguez was one of my favorite items from our trip to Tunisia and I was excited to see these. The price wasn't too bad, $6.99 a pound and the really nice woman behind the meat counter even checked on the ingredients.....100% lamb! My favorite preparation of these sausages were fried....which is what I did. Ate it in a roll, with harissa (of course).....this was really nice.

 These were actually pretty good, even more spicy than Tunisia. The sausages there were a bit more dense, less moist, thinner, and more gamey. The seasoning was pretty close and the casing was thin, which was perfect.

I was really happy eating these as it brought back some nice memories.

I'll definitely have these again.

The Missus even made a shaved kale and brussel sprout salad with pomegranate dressing.

Sriracha-Honey-Garlic Wings:

I bought some chicken wings......and decided to just grab some items out of the pantry.

A bit too sweet, so it needs a bit of work. Nice and sticky-crunchy though!

So there you go.....

What have you made at home recently?

Mushroom Risotto Arancini

On my last recently consumed post, I noted that I had gone through the two day process for making my mushroom risotto. This time around, I used up my parmesan rind in the stock to make the risotto....which added a wonderful flavor to the risotto, but also made it really rich, perhaps too rich for the Missus as we had a good amount leftover. The left me just the opening I needed to make something I'd been itching to try....Arancini, basically rice croquettes of Sicilian origin. Most arancini have additional filling, meat, a ragu, or the like, but the mushroom risotto had so much flavor I just moved forward "plain jane".

I did make a spicy fresh tomato sauce with some that were getting a bit soft paired with a nice fresh chanterelle mushroom ragu, that was pretty much like this. Roasted baby eggplant finished the whole thing off.

This was super easy....I used panko instead of breadcrumbs, but it was a total by-the-numbers egg wash deal.

I didn't want these too large, so used one of the missus' scoops for cookie dough, then rolled into a golf ball size orb.

Deep fry at 350, until they float, remove for a minute, then place back into oil for about another minute or so.

I knew that I'd enjoy these, but didn't know just how good they would be! Crunchy at first bite, then practically melting in your mouth.... Really delici-yoso!!!

The sauces were a nice compliment. The Missus didn't care for the tomato version, but I thought it really helped to cut the richness.

 I'm sure to be making these again.....it almost has me wishing for leftover risotto!

Happy Thanksgiving

To you and yours from the gang here at mmm-yoso!

Best wishes for a delici-yoso and safe holiday!

Hope you all get some delicious fresh turkey.......

Sakura's Son of Different Mothers: Restaurant Kazu

I'll be the first to say that "Japano-Italian" cuisine has never been a favorite of mine. which I readily admitted when I first mentioned that Sakura was opening up a second restaurant, this one specializing in the Japanese-Italian hybrid. I've had this fusion several times, at a couple of places back home in Hawaii and at Spoon House and Akane Chaya in Gardena. Don't quite know what it is; but I've never really enjoyed Uni Spaghetti and such. So I really thought I'd just leave the posts on the place up to Dennis, who has affinity for this type of dishes. Sure enough, the ever dependable Dennis had a post soon after the very, very, soft opening. Which didn't make me get up and grab some napolitan..... Until.... a FOY (Friend of Yoso), "MichaelC" emailed me, telling me how he enjoyed his meal at "Restaurant Kazu". I call it that because....much like Sakura, the place has no sign.

I decided to visit on a quiet weeknight evening when the Missus was tied up elsewhere. There's just a simple chalkboard sign out front with today's specials.

The small dining area is somewhat intimate, mildly stylish, without being stuffy.

The menu reflects what's on the chalkboard outside with other dishes that I would come to know as the "standards" here....like the creamy uni spaghetti. Appetizers run $4-$12 with entrees going for $10 and up. The menu has been slightly different on every visit.

One thing that stays the same is the slice of bread and a little dish of balsamic vinegar with olive oil.

It's been basically the two same young ladies working here on all my visits. They are both friendly, have a great sense of humor, and are overall a joy.

I started with something a bit different I saw on the appetizer menu; the Squid Ceviche. This was a major surprise for me in flavor.

First off, the texture of the squid was up to Sakura standards. Light chew, but quite tender. The flavors took me by surprise, there was a bit of heat going on, along with a good deal of lime juice. It was a bit on the sweet side; almost palm sugar sweet, which I enjoyed. On another visit, I found it a bit too sweet, but this time it really woke me up. With the cilantro, it almost seemed like a Thai style dish, bold flavors, which I enjoyed.

I went with the carbonara, which was kind of runny.

I liked the portion size, not too massive. It was beyond any doubt, a carb bomb. The pasta was just cooked to perfection....something, along with all the dishes using the same pasta, I'd find on subsequent visits.

Overall, I thought this better than expected. It was a nice, unhurried, relaxed meal. The two servers were very friendly and answered, or tried to answer my questions....many of which, like "when is the grand opening" had no answer.

So, on another evening, I had to dine solo, what better place to go than back here, right? This meal was just the opposite of my previous, with the appetizer, the "Italian Chicken Wings" (you know me and wings, right?) being pretty much a fail.

This was too salty...even for me, it was also kind of greasy. One of the wings wasn't fully cooked.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Shishito Pepper with Mushrooms and Yuzu Pepper, Japanese style ($13). The secret to this dish....yuzukosho, a strong fermented paste of yuzu peel and chili pepper, which added a nice citrus zip to the dish.

The pasta again cooked perfectly, the shishito adding a nice crunch to the meaty mushrooms. Again, pretty high on the carb ratio and it did seem like something I could make at home, but I did enjoy it. Plus, that little seed, of using yuzukosho in a different way had been planted.

I again joked with my servers about the mysterious grand opening and when I was told that the place was going to actually have a sign, I couldn't help but laugh....I told them "I'll believe it when I see it."

A couple of days later, the Missus was tied up during a weekend day. On my previous visit, I was told that lunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 to 3. So why not? Same servers, same smiles, same laughs when I asked "where's the sign?" Lunch is prix fixe, in the typical Japanese "lunch set" way. You have a base lunch, which starts at $12, you can substitute items, or change items.

It comes with coffee or orange juice....I rarely drink coffee, but on this day......

It smelled familiar....and it did turn out to be Starbucks.

The standard issue salad was a simple mix of arugula and romaine, which I enjoy.

Except that the vinaigrette was a bit too sour and this would have been much better with a sliver or two of some milky cheese to help cut the acid.

The standard issue soup was a surprisingly tart minestrone.

The vegetables were really on the crunchy side, which I don't mind at all.

For my main, I went with what MichaelC recommended, the Squid Ink Pasta which was a $2 up charge.

This is sauce made with squid ink, not the pasta. The better squid ink I've had has a mild briney flavor to it, but not much else to it. This one had a slight bitterness and bit more garlic than I expected. It also felt a bit on the rich side, so I was glad to have the tomatoes in the dish. Loved the way the squid was cooked and the pasta was again cooked perfectly.

I also noticed that the portion sizes seemed to have gotten larger during this visit. Overall, it was nice lunch......so when Candice, Ange, Peter, and I had to meet up to plan a little project we have, I thought why not?

We ended up having more food than I could document....mainly because we had such a fun time chatting. The Shishito Pepper with Mushrooms and Yuzu Pepper was again a winner, along with the Cod Roe, Salmon, Roe, Shiso Leaves, and Seaweed Cold Pasta ($14).

Though I really would have appreciated a bit more ikura.

We also enjoyed the Baby Anchovies and Japanese Bell Pepper Peperoncino ($13).

Sort of like a really mild aglio e olio.

As you can imagine, having the same pasta got a bit tedious. Several of the other dishes really didn't make a great impression; the Bagna Cauda was bland, the ribs not very good, and the seafood in the vongole biagno was overcooked, the mussels rubbery. Service was very nice and accommodating. Candice mentioned that the wine list looked way over-priced (a bottle of Kendall Jackson $42!), and the beer options were either the Budweiser of Italy; Peroni, or Asahi, which is what we had.

Oh, and still no grand opening or sign in sight! I realize that for someone who is not really into Japano-Italian food, I've sure eaten here quite a bit in the last couple of months. You can't say I didn't do my due diligence on this one. I do enjoy the lightness of some of the dishes, have enjoyed the servers, oh, and you can tell I really like my carbs, right? Don't go here expecting a meat-fest, you'll be disappointed. The portion sizes seem to have gotten bigger, though I think they can cut back on the pasta and make the dishes more well rounded.

Restaurant Kazu
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Dinner - Tues-Sun 5pm - 10pm
Lunch - Sat-Sun 11am - 3pm
Closed on Mondays

Thanks again for the email Michael!

 

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