mmm-yoso!!!

Rome Day 2 - A typical vacation day with the Missus Part 1

I keep looking at all these photos of Rome and thinking, well one of these days. There was so much we saw, but it also seemed so hectic. I usually will look at a set of photos and the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, pop out and just like that; I have a post. This one had to really pared down......in the end, I thought this would be a nice description of what a typical vacation day with the Missus is like. It makes a nice C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post.

As is the norm, we woke quite early on our first full day in Rome. I actually got up at 5am and did a post from our room. The Missus woke a bit later and we were headed out before 7. The Missus had a basic list of places to check out and we'd be walking to them all.

So we headed off from Termini Station down the street.

Pst the Colosseum and the Forum......

Skirting Palatine Hill and the Victor Emmanuel Monument.....

And we ended up at Saint Andrea della Valle, Piazza Navona was just a short walk from there. It was pretty quiet at Piazza at that time.

The Missus was determined to get to the Pantheon when it opened. So we walked on over and found that we were still quite early. So we walked over a block to Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

First thing on my mind was....what's up with the Elephant Obelisk, what does it represent? Well, apparently, this obelisk was one of two brought to Rome by Emperor Diocletian from Egypt sometime during his reign between 284 - 305AD. The obelisks were built during the reign of Pharoah Apries around 570BC. The Elephant was designed by Bernini and sculpted by Ercole Ferrata, completed in 1667. The Missus has a thing about obelisks....I'm really afraid to ask really. I will say, this is my favorite one...though I'm still not sure what it all really means.

The church itself is built over the ruins of a temple to the Egyptian Goddess Isis.

As with many of the various churches in Rome, of which there are over 900, most with a rich history, and tons of relics. Santa Maria sopra Minerva was once the center of the Dominican Order, so it makes sense that Saint Catherine of Siena is buried here....well, not all of her. Her head is interred at the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena.

We returned to the Pantheon, which still wasn't open, and decided to just have a cup of coffee and chill. There seemed to be quite a few "locals" walking their dogs, chatting, and generally giving the place a very relaxed feeling.

And yes, that's a obelisk and fountain the front of the Pantheon. This one was built by Ramesses II and was taken from the Temple of Ra in the ancient city of Heliopolis.

Soon enough, folks started lining up in front of the huge doors......

The Missus has been obsessed with visiting here since She saw some show which theorizes that the beam of light from the oculus actually tells time...in other words; it's a giant sundial. What's really amazing is that the Pantheon was finished around 126AD, and almost 1900 years later, it is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world!

Anyway, here we were, standing in front of the huge bronze doors of the Pantheon. A little gentleman comes out to open up...and can't budge the doors. He recruits a bunch of us to push open the doors. Which we do. Oh man, talk about a thrill....I helped to push open the doors of the Pantheon! I immediately asked the Missus if She got a photo; "oh, I was so excited for you....I forgot!"

Click on the photo above to enlarge....this is one of the few places that really impressed me more than what I had read.

A few minutes later the place started getting crowded. It was time to leave. Outside, all the locals had disappeared as tourists descended on the Pantheon. I'm glad we had arrived early.

We headed back to Piazza Navona which was starting to pick up.

The Piazza stands on what was the center of the Stadium of Domitian.

There are three fountains which grace the square, this is the one on the North, the Fountain of Neptune.

We decided to back track and headed to Campo de Fiori, literally translated to "Field of Flowers". I read that in the Middle Ages, the area was actually a meadow. It now houses a daily flower and vegetable market....kind of touristy. pretty pricey, but still fun.

Right on Campo de Fiori resides a place that is pretty much legendary, Forno Campo de Fiori, a little bakery and shop.

The Pizza Bianca was good, initial crunch, a bit too chewy for my taste, very soft interior.....kind of bland though. The pizzas, were, well, kind of disappointing, hard, greasy....probably because they seemed to have been laying out for a while.

Forno Campo de' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori 22
Rome, Italy

Since it was now my turn for the time being, we headed off down Via dei Giubbonari, one of the side street off of Campo de Fiori. A little street lined with shops and cafes. Along the way we passed a little cul de sac, which had....what else, a church.

This little church is Santa Barbara dei Librari - the church for booksellers!

I loved this little three panel wooden painting, called a triptych. I later read that it dates back to the 15th-16th century.

When we hit the cross street of Via dei Chiavari, I found the other place I wanted to try. My good buddy Candice told me that she preferred Antico Forno Marco Roscioli.

About this time I figured out that pizza bianca would make a perfect sandwich....which it did.

I did notice that the pizza bianca here was less oily and had a better crunch.

I thought the marinara pizza was pretty good as well.

Antico Forno Marco Roscioli
Via dei Chiavari 34
Rome, Italy

As you notice....these were the days before the Missus really clamped down on carbs. And yet, with this walking, I still lost weight!

Bolstered by carbs and caffiene we headed off to find the Missus's next target....where was that darn Trevi Fountain?

Thanks for reading!

The Santouka Effect.....

In my opinion we had some pretty good ramen in Japan.

I mean, for me, it was a total slam dunk...I loved my choices.

1 - Nagi Ramen - which I've already posted on

2 - Ippudo

3 - Rokurinsha

We had one bowl which we both didn't care for.

But the place made killer fried chicken.

Strangely, during the whole time, the Missus kept saying...."you know, this is not as good as Santouka!" Say what?!? I love Santouka and all, but really! Perhaps I should have gone to Santouka in Kyoto just to set things straight. I'm thinking She really didn't care for the stronger niboshi flavors.....but She also wasn't impressed with the richness of the broth! Nagi Ramen? Rokurinsha? Really?

If She believed Santouka is that much better than anything we had, then fine. I wanted some confirmation. So, this past Saturday, it was off to Santouka, which by the way, is my favorite ramen in San Diego.

We ordered just as we did in Japan. The Missus, minimizing the carbs......She almost fell out of Her seat the first time She saw someone having ramen, rice, and gyoza! Ramen and rice?!? Anyway, She'd have a bit of noodles, a bit of rice, usually a decent amount of broth, and sometimes more than 1 egg. She did readily admit that the eggs in Japan were just that much better.

Anyway, one sip of the broth did it. "Huh, it's kind of thin, sort of bland....... I don't know what I was thinking?" Yes, She had somehow mentally put the broth and everything else at Santouka on a pedestal! We all do this....but not usually with items we've recently had....food nostalgia strikes us all. But I've never seen this in the short term.

No, it wasn't quite as rich, nor robust in flavor, as much of what we had. The noodles, well, the Missus doesn't care for Hakata style noodles, yet the texture in each bowl we had was excellent.

"You know, I feel kind of disappointed....I don't feel that I enjoyed those bowls as much as I could have. I put Santouka up on a fictional level. It was all in my head....."

"Doesn't it suck when you find out that Santa Claus doesn't exist? Oh, and....as an FYI.....neither does the Easter Bunny"

"I feel gypped......"

"Hey, we can always circle back. I'm more than willing to return to Japan. And, we can even check out Santouka while we're there!"

Like I said. Santouka is our favorite. But a little perspective is always good. And maybe, just maybe....we'll be able to sample more good ramen in Japan again soon.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope you're having a great week!

 

Phuong Trang (revisits)

Thanks again for dropping by mmm-yoso!!!, food blog.  Kirk is catching up at work, Ed (from Yuma) is catching up at home and today Cathy is catching up with a post of many visits to the same place. {Admittedly this was because it is air conditioned and this summer was brutal}  

Go to the top left corner of this blog.  In the box under the words "Site Search", fill in Phuong Trang.  There are more than 170 results: we've written about it a lot.  

Phoung Trang is the place where The Mister and/or I take people who are new to Vietnamese food.  Kirk has called the food here 'middle of the road' and not offensive.   The selections are multiple, food is good, prices are fair, the restaurant is clean and almost every table orders the wings. The signage is new, as Kirk mentioned in this August post.The interior has not changed and is kept very clean. The Mister and I order hot tea with every meal; 75¢ per person, made with loose leaves. The jasmine flavor is brisk and bright. Once you order, the proper tableware is brought out.Pho ($6.50) comes with the usual sides.  That sauce is for my whole fish (2nd photo below).The broth has a light anise flavor, the meats are plenty, flavorful, tender.  Noodles are usually not in a clump and a regular/small bowl is filling.The whole fish here is reasonable ($8.95), fried properly with seasoning, quite large and meaty.  Mi Dac Biet ($8.50) is the House Special Noodle Soup (in this case, mi-egg noodle instead of rice noodle).  A wonderful chicken broth and filled with calamari, shrimp, ground and cha siu pork, imitation crab and chicken.  It's served in the extra large bowl and can be a meal to share. Banh Uot Dac Biet ($8.75), steamed rice noodles with steamed bean sprouts, shredded cucumber, carmelized onion, garlic slices and fish sauce with the 'Dac Biet' meat combination of Vietnamese ham, salami, shredded pork and char grilled pork.  This is very refreshing and a nice change from Bun dishes, with a different noodle and served on a plate without lettuces under the noodle.The Bo Bia ($4.75) can be a meal.  Chinese sausage and fried egg with lettuce, carrots, dried shrimp, jicama, basil, crushed peanuts and chili sauce wrapped in rice paper is a much more interesting selection than some of the other rolls here or anywhere.One recent order was Mi Xao Ga (chicken and vegetables with crispy noodle) ($8.25), which has become a new craving. One summer resolution has been trying Bo Tai Chanh (lemon beef salad) ($10.50) whenever I see it on a menu. The version here is served over lettuce, is different than other versions and was, in comparison, kind of dull.  The vegetables were fresh, there was a definite lemon flavor to the thinly sliced beef, but I wouldn't order it from here again.Finally in September we succumbed to every table around us and ordered the Canh Ga Chien Bo (garlic chicken wings with butter)...but just a half order ($5.75).  These were crispy and had good flavor with a good meat to skin ratio.Because we enjoy the crispy noodles, here's a photo of Mi Xao Bo (crispy noodle with beef and vegetables) (also $8.25).  It's just as good with any of the meats...because, you know...fried noodle.The newest discovery made here was from the appetizer menu- Cha Dum (steamed meatloaf) ($7.25) served with shrimp chips, the steamed seasoned ground beef mixed with glass noodles, peanuts and peas is a wonderful combination of flavor and texture.  

It's been fun to try out new to us menu items. I hope your week is going well.

Phuong Trang  4170 Convoy Street 92111 (858) 565-6750 Website

2015 Rose Parade Road Test #5. Breakfast at Cupid's Burgers and Tacos (Corona)

mmm-yoso!!! a food blog, sometimes with photos and stories about how the food was attained.  Kirk is taking a short break as is Ed(from Yuma).  Cathy is writing today. 

Yes, it's getting close to that time of the year and floats for the 126th Rose Parade  are still being built and going through testing and evaluations of maneuverability and safety.  It's a nice drive North; we leave home at 5 a.m. to get to Pasadena by 7 a.m. and walk a block and over the Metro tracks to see things like this-The Western Asset Management float entry "The Power of Imagination" was tested in its mostly screened over form, but you can see the rebar outline.  It's going to be beautiful- look at the float renditions here.  (The last drawing is this float).The 2015 Farmers Insurance Group entry, "Dream Big: World of Possibility" also had it's first road test on Saturday and there is going to be a lot going on this float, including a giant screen resembling a laptop computer on the float (the rendition is also on the above link, 5th photo from the top).When I posted the sixth photo on this post last month, a different angle than the one above,  I mentioned it was the Princess Cruise Lines entry, "50 years of Inspiring Travel", and that the crew of The Love Boat television show (which ran from 1977-1987) will be riding the float. {Reading the link, I never realized how each episode had three crossover stories and that each show had a somber/moral storyline as part of the script.}The float is now screened over and details on both sides are clear.
What made this past Saturday was more interesting in that the float was 'Christened' by the Vice President of Public Relations for Princess Cruises, Julie Benson, just before its road test.  (The link to the article has better photos of the event. This was a new experience for floats).  Long story short, after viewing the floats, we wanted to get back to San Diego ASAP to watch college football and started driving back- East on the 210, to the 57, to the 71 to the 91 and eventually to the 15...we just took an exit at the time we agreed we were hungry.  It was the City of Corona.  Seeing the above signage, you just know we had to stop. Turns out Cupid's has been in this location for decades, underwent new management a few years ago, when they remodeled a bit, extending the footprint but kept the menu and original signage the same.  
That front area with all the tables and booths was added on.  The ordering counter looks like it was the original, with the kitchen between the counter and the take out window. We ordered, paid and our food was brought to the table.  Huevos Rancheros plate ($5.29) came with steaming hot tortillas and the eggs were perfect, as were the beans and rice (which tasted like it was cooked in a broth).  The ranchero sauce was *wonderful*, filled with chunky vegetables, notably fresh strips of chile as well as tomato and onion and so very flavorful.  A great choice.  While looking at the menu on the wall, there was a whiteboard of specials next to the cash register- and the 'Breakfast scramble" with your choice of meat (we chose sausage) was $4.99.  Easily this had three eggs, at least three and probably four sausage links chopped up and was smothered in a really great sausage gravy. All of that was on top of freshly made crispy fries, which turned out to be such a tasty combination of flavor and texture.  

I hope we randomly take this exit again.  

Cupids Burgers and Tacos 623 E. 6th Street Corona, CA 92879 (951) 737-1772 Mon-Sat 6 am-10 pm, Sun 7 am-10 pm

Yakitori Taisho - a first look

*** More updates can be found here and here.

So we get back from Japan and what's the first thing the Missus wants to eat? Japanese of course! With the Missus eating low wheat products, it can be a challenge....but Yakitori places surely fit the bill if you want to do some lower-carb eating. Plus, Yakitori Taisho had just opened a few days earlier. I'd been keeping an eye on the place since it was Curry Rice Hinotez.

Though we'd had yakitori twice in Osaka, none of the meals really wow'd us. One of the places was really inexpensive and made some great quail eggs, but fell short, the other made a wonderful version of torisashi (chicken sashimi) and a tasty yaki-onigiri, but the actual stuff on a stick? Well, maybe not. So the Missus was kind of interested to see how this place would be. I wanted to see if there were any differences from it's brother restaurant Yakyudori.

First off, the restaurant is, as expected, tiny, eight bar seats and maybe.....and this might be stretching it, another 7 seats at two small tables. I'd say that this would be much like Japan, except the counters are quite large.

There's a single person working the brazier and the smell of bincho seems a bit milder.

As things went, there were some distinct differences between Yakyudori and Taisho. First off, Taisho seemed a bit more stylish.....plus no cabbage to help refresh you between items. The one server was omni-present, but very nice.

So, on to the food. We started with tororo (grated mountain yam) and quail egg.

With a little shoyu, a nice start....it could also be a nice palate cleanser between dishes. Loved that you could make out the yolk flavor in this. Yes, I know, a lot of folks have a problem with that mucousy slimy texture....but man, don't you think it's time you got over that? And heck, if you're one of those health crazy folks....think about all that soluble fiber, right?

The tsukune, chicken meatball, looked different than the tubular version at Yakyudori.

But it was as moist and melt in your mouth tender. The tare was also milder. I'm not sure if it was because it's a new batch that hasn't "aged" yet, or if by purpose, but this was very nice as you could really make out the chicken and scallion flavor.

So then, there's the teba, the chicken wings, for us, one of the best items Yakyudori makes. The version here is also splayed out perfectly, it is also grilled to crisp perfection. The one thing we quickly noticed was....this wasn't as salty. We kind of enjoyed this more....

The first very distinctive difference between Taisho and Yakyudori was in the negima.

This version used regular onions and breast. Nevertheless, it was very moist.

The kawa (chicken skin) was interesting.

Chicken skin is one of our favorites. This version was dipped into the tare several times. While I appreciated the sweet and salty flavors; the texture was kind of gummy, and the fact you were eating crisp, salty, chicken skin was lost.

The ginnan....well, tasted like ginko.

The last item was perhaps one of the best - the buta-shiso.

While I really like the version at Yakyudori, I thought this was perhaps, better. The pork, belly in this case I believe, was exceedingly moist. It was not as aggressively salted, meaning that the flavor of the pork came through. I also noticed that the grill had been set-up with different temperature sections. Also, it seemed items weren't cooked at as high a heat as Yakyudori....items were started lower, but finished high. The sodium content also seemed a bit lower. In other words, there was a lot to like here. I have a feeling this place is going to blow up like crazy, so I'm glad we got a chance to try it out. I overheard the chef talking to so some friends telling them gyutan is coming soon.....I'd also really like to see horumon (intestine) and nankotsu (chicken cartlidge) on the menu....

We enjoyed ourselves. We'll be back.....if we can get a seat.

Yakitori Taisho
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117
Hours:
Tues - Sunday 5pm - 11pm

 

 

Tokyo Day 1: Lunch at Sushi Iwa

I'd planned on making our first full day in Tokyo our "red lettered day" for our trip and things were starting out great with a visit to Tsukiji and breakfast at Tenfusa. We left Tsukiji and decided to walk up to Ginza. We stopped for coffee in a nice quiet shop and struck up a conversation with a nice couple, he was retired military, his wife, a native of Tokyo, returns yearly to lecture. It was quite an entertaining discussion.

Ginza is the upscale shopping and entertainment neighborhood of Tokyo....huge multilevel department stores, like Mitsukoshi, which once had a shopping complex in Waikiki which had an entire floor of video games. So large it even has its own subway stop on the Ginza line! More on that later.

We walked around the Ginza area killing time. I'd gotten lunch reservations at Sushi Iwa through the wrangling of some friends. That's the deal with being in an apartment, there's no concierge service, but I think we did fine. For what it's worth, the place has a Michelin Star, which, I guess for some people is all that really matters...... sigh.

Now finding a single doorway on a side street in Ginza while trying to use the Japanese address system, can be frustrating. Armed with a photo of the storefront, finding the address 8-5-25 Ginza, Chuo-ku ranks right up there with spending your day chewing on aluminum foil. For some reason, the Missus did exceptionally well once we could locate the "chome" - district, in this case 8-chome. The next number is the block, which was easy enough....you find 4 or 6 and you know "5" is in there somewhere. That last number is the building....the trick here being that the numbering for buildings is not consecutive. Rather, buildings are numbered in the order in which they were built or in reference to some "center"! All this made finding almost everything an adventure. We really didn't feel bad after seeing so many Japanese visitors and even residents of Tokyo...even our friend Reiko has no idea how to find a place without using a business card, an app, or asking directions. Given the immense tolerance and patience of folks we ran into, this is fairly common.

The shop itself is quite tiny; only six seats. The lines very clean, very neat, the space wide open for viewing the chef Hisayoshi Iwa preparing our meal.

So why lunch? Well, the Missus was having a hard time justifying spending over $200 per person for a sushi dinner, kaiseki maybe, but just not sushi. Plus, with rice involved, we tend to fill up rather quickly. Sushi Iwa has a basic sushi lunch (10 pieces) for 4750 yen - (under $50, you can get the 13 pieces for $85). This is a bargain in my eyes.

We started with a nice clean, cold sake, which the Chef recommended.

It was a joy to watch the precision practiced by the rather young (mid-late 30's) Chef. I love the single bite Edo style sushi. The rice here is very mild and balanced in flavor, which is my preference. The nikiri is also quite neutral, no heavy sweet or salty tones, just adding a mild umami. I loved what I call the "rice explosion", when the nigiri enters the mouth and just breaks down without chewing....the Missus still isn't used to this having had too much neighborhood sushi back in the states. 

1 - Hirame.

It's standard operating procedure to start with a firm and mild shiromi and hirame (fluke/flounder) fits the bill. I personally love shiromi, the subtle flavors, rasied by a nice nikiri. This had a bit too much wasabi on it for my taste, but was still a nice firm piece.

2 - Madai

Firm then yielding, my kind of fish.

3 - Kinmedai

I really loved this fish, golden eye sea bream, when I had it earlier in the year at Shunji. This just confirmed my love for the firm, yet deceivingly fatty flesh which was elevated by the nikiri. We basically used no soy sauce for any of our nigiri.

4 - Akami-zuke

Lean maguro, "cured" in a soy sauce mixture. This was fine, but really nothing special in terms of flavor or texture. In fact, this one just reinforced how good Tadokoro is in my mind.
 

5 - The prep for the ika was amazing to watch. The squid was sliced horizontinally into paper thin sheets....you could actually see through them! It was then cut into very thin strips.

It almost looked like shio ebi! After having mine, I told the Missus this one was going to change Her view of ika. And it did! It was amazingly tender with great flavor....it nearly melted in our mouth.

6 - Katsuo

Good oil, but still quite mild, nice meaty texture.....the usual ginger helped refresh.

7 - Ishigaki Clam

At first I thought it looked like mirugai, but I was told it was Ishigaki-gai - Giant Clam from Ishigaki Island, something new for me. It was firm and crisp and more briney than sweet. In fact, the rather heady flavor reminded me of Chocolate Clams. 

8 - The hotate (scallop) was cured, then massaged.

Man, this was awesome, so tender, sweet, and almost ethereal as it melted away in your mouth.

9 - Ikura

The Missus had also never had ikura that tasted like this. It was clean, like a orb of the cleanest, sweetest, ocean water. I often go back to this line, "I've been told that the freshest, cleanest salt water in the world exists several hundred miles off the South coast of the Big Island, deep in the ocean, the Ikura made me think of how clean and refreshing that water would taste" from a post from the past.

10 - Anago.

True Edo-mae sushi places in Tokyo will never serve you unagi, rather, only items from the ocean, and out of Tokyo bay will be served. This was an excellent example of the sweet, mild, melt in your mouth, anago nigiri. Nothing I've ever had (Kaito, Kokoro, Tadokoro, places in LA) has ever been this good.

11 & 12 - Things ended with some miso shiru and a combination of rolls.

All in all, a wonderful meal, and a bargain at $110 for the two of us.

Sushi Iwa
8-5-25 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo, Japan

Wow, we'd had quite a day....and it was only half over!

Stay tuned! 

Tokyo Day 1: A walk around the neighborhood, Tsukiji Market, and Tenfusa

On our first day, I made the decision NOT to get up at 330am and catch a cab, get in line, and take a chance at checking out the tuna auction at Tsukiji Market.... a 20 minute cattle call. Heresy, I know. It's not that we don't wake up early; heck I wake up at 5am during the week, jet lag always wakes us early on our trips as well. Remember us walking around Hanoi at 430am? If you're a regular reader, you do know I love visiting markets when travelling. It's amazing what you might learn and see. I've even been to various fish auctions, in both Hilo and Oahu, and heck even in Djerba, Tunisia. Instead, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood, then stroll to Yotsuya Station and heading off to Tsukiji at around 630.

The narrow side streets bore little resemblance to the busy main artery a few blocks away.

We were told that the Yotsuya area was historically a Samurai and Ninja District:

"Honshio-cho & Sakamachi are located in front of the ministry of defense,between Yotsuya, Ichigaya and Akebonboashi station.

There were two big Ninja group.Iga school and Koga.The top of Iga was Hanzo Hattori, his name is still kept at the gate of the Emperor's palace and as the name subway line. Koga Ninha residence was located in Honshio-cho and the entire district was a fortress, isolated from other area."

Indeed, the gravesite of Hattori Hanzo is located somewhere nearby at Sainen-ji temple. And no, it's not this Hattori Hanzo. The story of the REAL Hattori Hanzo is much more fascinating. Unfortunately, there are a ton of temples in the area, so we never found Sainen-ji Temple, which, in addition to having Hattori Hanzo's gravesite, also has Hattori Hanzo's spear. Next time....

Yotsuya is also prominently mentioned in the famous ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan. Like Hattori Hanzo's reappearance in Kill Bill, there's a connection between what is called the most famous "obake story" of all time and a modern retelling of it.

Like many neighborhoods in Japan, I'm sure there are a thousand stories for every block of real estate.

We managed to only visit a few places, really not knowing the significance of them. Hopefully, one day, we'll be able to visit again and get an understanding of the history of the area.

As it is, we ended up back on the main street and walked on over to Yotsuya Station and arrived at the Tsukiji-shijo Station at 645. From there it was a slam dunk finding the market.....just follow the dude in waders carrying wicker baskets....

Namiyoke Dori Street is the main street for the market. It is also probably the easiest way to find the entrance to the outer market, which is basically the retail area for Tsukiji. In some ways, I found what was here more interesting, though the Inner Market is more fascinating . This area opens at 5am, whereas the Inner Market is not open to the public until 9am.

Anyway, here are some photos. I tried to do things quickly....there's nothing more irritating than some butthead stopping in the middle of the street blocking folks trying to actually do some business, setting up his gear.... "ooooh, it's wasabi!"

I really loved all the pickled vegetables...tsukemono and the like....

There's a huge section of just tamago.....

I think you get the point, right???

Whew....need a break? Head on back to Namiyoke Dori. There's an area with vending machines right next to the info center....which doesn't open until 8am BTW. Still, you can grab a seat, next to bunch of other folks, many of them looking like vendors from the market taking a break and grab something refreshing.

And take in the street scene.

 Right at the end of Namiyoke Street, right before you turn into the main market area is Namiyoke Inari Shrine. People believe that this shrine guards and protects the market. When it was built during the Edo Period it was at the water's edge. As it is; the shrine is functional. We saw several workmen come by while visiting.....

The Missus really loved this shrine. Mainly for one rather charming (in my opinion) reason. To the right, of the entrance lies a few shrines and monuments. One of them, picuted to the right is the "Tamago-zuka".... that's right, the monument to the egg, probably the Missus' favorite food item. This is part of the "sushi-zuka" monuments to sushi residing on shrine grounds.

The one to the far right in the photo below is the monument to shrimp! You gotta love it! We loved this little shrine.....

It was now about 830...still a bit too early for the wholesale market which opens to the public at 9am. Perhaps it was time for some breakfast. Time to queue up with all the other toursts at one of the sushi places in the market, right? Not so fast Kemosabe. First, the last thing I wanted was a rushed tourist class sushi meal, elbow to elbow with a bunch of other toursts. Second, I had reservations at a sushi place for lunch. Tenfusa, a small, 2 table and four bar seat tempura place sounded just right. 

We walked in, away from the chaos and lines at Sushi Dai and Daiwa on the same alley, to a quiet little oasis. THe guys eating at the counter seemed like regulars; they all knew the woman running the front of house. This was my kind of place.

The Missus still had Her heart set on having some fish at Tsukiji; so we ordered the maguro sashimi, which wasn't the highest grade of fish; but super fresh, and a bargain at 500 yen ($5).

I ordered the Tendon (1100 yen - $11), a very generous portion of rice (does anything other than a generous bowl of rice exist in Japan).  Man, this was tasty....the green bean was great. The shrimp had that pure shrimp flavor I recalled having as a child. The Missus prefers "American tempura" the hard, laquered version..... The fish was sweet, I attempted to ask what it was and was told "megochi" - flathead, something I don't think I've ever had.

A very nice breakfast.

Tenfusa
Uogashi Yokocho Building #6
Tsukiji Market 5-2-1

After breakfast we headed first to the Vegetable and Fruit Wholesale Market, then the Seafood Wholesale Market; dodging the turret trucks and scooters.....

There's a kind of intensity to the Wholesale Seafood Market; after all it is one of the largest wholesale seafood markets in the world and probably the best known.

Everything you've read or heard about Tsukiji....well, it's probably true. If it swims in the sea you'll probably find it here.

Honestly, I should have taken a ton more photos, but I was so mesmerized by what I saw. Plus, I really didn't want to be one of the many who just stuck their cameras everywhere.

Tsukiji is amazing, just as everyone says......

Thanks for reading!

Tokyo: First impressions, Shinjuku, and Nagi Ramen

Back in July, having just returned from Belgium and the Czech Republic, the Missus sent me a text. Something along the lines of "let's go to Japan." To which I replied, "great, so next year, we'll go to Japan". Her response? "No, I mean let's go to Japan in October, after seeing my parents." And so it came to pass....

For some strange reason; I'd never really been motivated to visit Japan. But now, the wheels set in motion, I just couldn't wait. Though busy at work and time was short, I did some research, and found things I needed to know; the somewhat confusing address system, making sure I had photos of the storefronts of the places we needed to be at. I got us apartments in Tokyo and Osaka, and even a Machiya in Kyoto. Had friends make reservations at two places in Tokyo. We don't really plan much in the way of activities; mostly just broad outlines. The Missus likes to do most of that when we reach our destination. This can be a challenge, but She does it based on where we need to be.

All in all, Japan turned out to be one of the easiest places we've ever visited. It's amazingly orderly, folks at the worst are polite and everyone we met was helpful. That the Missus could read Kanji proved to be a major plus as other than the hiragana and katagana, and Japanese pronunciations, She could cull out meaning. I know a handful of words though my phrasing is (sometimes hilariously) woeful. When it comes to food though, I understand much more.

Well, enough of that....I'll get more into it in future posts.

As things turned out, all you really need is a Japan Railpass, Suica Card, the Hyperdia App, addresses both in English and Japanese, the word "sumimasen", and a little patience and you'll do just fine.

I really thought Tokyo was going to be a bear and was prepared to be overwhelmed, and in a way we were, but not exactly in the way we thought we'd be. First off, getting around in Tokyo was very easy for us. Finding exact locations weren't. Tokyo itself is made up of 23 wards.....think of it as 23 cities packed into one mega-city. Yes, it's busy, but also very quiet. The train/subway can be packed to the gills and yet, there's not a single word uttered in anything above a whisper! Folks line the stairs and escalators...all to the left in Tokyo, letting folks pass to the right. They walk...a lot...they eat tons of carbs and are very thin...folks do not eat while they walk, it's bad manners, even though there are very few public waste receptacles, the sidewalks are extremely clean.

We arrived in the neighborhood of Yotsuya and found the business of the person we were renting our apartment from with rather minimal problems. She was in the middle of teaching a class, so we dropped off our luggage, we travel super light, and set off to get something to drink, and to do some exploring. We walked down one of the side streets....

Seeing the sign above we walked down the alley like street and were totally over whelmed by all the restaurants and bars......which led to the big question. How does one actually make a choice here? There are so many places and options. I'm sure Tabelog and Gurunavi would help, but man, there's just so much. The Missus made the comment, "man, there are more restaurants in this little street than all of Clairemont Mesa!"

Luckily, I had reservations taken care of for the next night, had a plan for this evening, and had an outline of where to eat in the area for our last evening in Tokyo. In fact, we went looking for that Izakaya and actually found the place....using my really, really bad Japanese, I uttered one of the few phrases I know, "Yoyaku wo onegaishimasu".... actually getting reservations.

We finally got settled into our apartment, which ended up being in the Yotsuya Sanchome area. A bit more residential, busy main streets, but quiet side streets.

We were meeting an old friend of mine; Reiko for dinner. nothing major, I wanted some ramen, and it would be great seeing Reiko, who used to work for one of my friends several years (actually more than several) back. Reiko was born and raised on Tokyo, so I thought getting to where we wanted to go to would be a slam dunk...well, not quite. You see, first we had to get to Shinjuku Station, claimed to be the busiest in the world (according to Wikipedia, the station was used by over 3.6 million people a day and has 200 exits).

Shinjuku itself is a popular business, entertainment, and shopping area.... lets just say popular is an understatement. Tons of younger folks gather outside the station, just milling around, as it seems to be a popular meeting and socializing area.

The place I'd ask Reiko to find had several locations within Kabukichō, the red light district and the Golden Gai, so it goes to figure that Reiko isn't really familiar with the area. After passing the Robot Restaurant (if you really gotta know, you can read about it here.) and missing the photo op of a large group of business men taking a photo with one of the "Robot Warriors", she needed some help and got a bit of direction....

This was sensory overload....after a while, things started looking like this.

I was seeing blurred outlines by now...all the blinking lights, the neon..... the punk-goth Japanese girls, good god, I was ready to fade to black.

Just in time Reiko pointed and said, "there it is Kirk-san.... Nagi Ramen."  

Yes, all this effort for ramen. Would you expect anything less from us? Of course, not just any ramen....

Then of course, there was navigating the ramen ticket machine. You enter in your money and press the buttons for the various options you want.

The tiny shop has a single counter with a few seats. Behind the counter, two guys do everything..... it's hot and hard work.

Nagi is famous for their hardcore niboshi broth. Vast quantities of dried anchovies are simmered for over 12 hours to come up with a heady broth.

The broth is hearty, thick, savory, packing a huge punch. Pungent and full of flavor, it's not eveyone's cup of tea. Indeed it was a bit too strong at first for the Missus. That first sip of the broth will do that to you. We both ordered the combination of noodles, the regular, kind of doughy-chewy noodles and the wide and flat "hirauchimen"noodles which the Missus preferred. The egg had that perfect bright orange orb of a yolk. I had ordered extra green onions which helped balance out the flavor of the broth. My only issue was with the chashu which looked medium rare and was very tough and chewy. Otherwise, this was love at first bite....though perhaps not for the Missus who was a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Leaving the restaurant, things seemed to slow down, everything felt like it was slowing down, all was right in the world, things were starting to make sense.... though I still didn't have an explanation for the Robot Restaurant!

Thanks for reading! 

Frank's Restaurant – New in Yuma

mmm-yoso!!! is a foodblog where Kirk and Cathy post about restaurants and recipes and locations of interest to folks in San Diego country and often throughout the world. Today Ed (from Yuma) has a long post that will mostly be of interest to folks in Yuma. You have been warned.

This last year has been tough for Yuma restaurants. Chains like Mimi's and Outback have closed Yuma locations. Local restaurants like The Mad Greek, Spanky's Chophouse, and El Papagallo are shuttered. Countering this trend, Frank's opened in July at the old Nick's Coffee Mill location,  a spot that I considered cursed because restaurant after restaurant there has failed over the last 10 or 12 years:

I guess this location is still cursed. At about the same time this post hit the Internet, Frank's closed this location and moved to 1245 Desert Hills Dr - basically just off of Avenue A, at the municipal golf course south of 32nd. This may be the fastest closure following a post in the history of mmm-yoso!!! Makes me feel like a typhoid Mary (or in 2014 parlance, an Ebola Ed). If Frank's sounds good to you, try the new location.

Frank's, however, seems to be a success, the restaurant and the parking lots generally full at breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. Most of the booths and a lot of chairs at the front of the restaurant are occupied:

As are the tables in the large back room:

There is a lot to like about Frank's. It is owned and operated by a local family, and almost every time I've been there, Frank himself is watching and supervising. The folks who wait tables are well trained and friendly. When I eat by myself, I am usually called "honey" or "sweetie." Us older gents appreciate that. The prices are also very reasonable, and most folks in Yuma appreciate that.

On the other hand, the food itself has been somewhat inconsistent. The coffee is pretty ordinary:

As is the iced tea:

The restaurant advertises itself as having the "Best Ribs and Fish in Town." So one Friday evening, Tina and I showed up for the ribs and the fish. Friday is all-you-can-eat fish fry ($9.99), and both Tina and I thought the fish platter was good:

I like the coleslaw here, the very fresh cabbage with a slightly sweet and goopy slaw sauce:

On the other hand, the crinkle cut fries are just like you would expect, pretty boring, and not at all crunchy, even when ordered extra crispy. The cod fillets, however, are outstanding:

The breading was crunchy and stayed on the fillets. But they weren’t overbattered. The fish was moist and clean flavored and tasted fresh. I would order this again happily. In fact, I wish Frank’s would add a cod burger to the sandwich choices. That would be yummy.

On the other hand, the best parts about the rib platter were the excellent baked beans and coleslaw and how this half rack looked on the plate ($13.99):

The parboiled ribs had been briefly grilled and then covered in sauce. While they were certainly tender and the meat fell off the bone, there was no discernible smoky flavor (in Frank's defense, the menu does not claim that the ribs are barbecued).

Lunches also have been somewhat inconsistent. On my first visit, I ordered the plain burger ($6.99). I loved the fresh and generous toppings – lettuce, tomato, onion slice, and dill pickles – though the french fries were meh:

The preformed half pound patty was not greasy, but a little overcooked. Next time, I would order cheese, and employ more condiments to flavor the burger:

And I wish Frank's served a better brand of ketchup than First Street, which I find bland and mediocre. Perhaps better ketchup would improve my appreciation of the french fries. Perhaps.

These days, the burgers come with coleslaw, but in the early days a salad (now $2.99) was an optional side. The quality of the greens and veggies were generally good:

I was impressed by the generous portion and the use of mesclun lettuce, instead of iceberg. Fancy lettuces make the salads here a little special.

In contrast, the club sandwich ($7.25) was a disappointment. I’ve been eating club sandwiches for close to 60 years now, and have fond memories of accompanying my grandmother to Woolworth's or Newberry's (she called them dime stores) for shopping and lunch, which for me was always a club sandwich – roasted turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato arranged on three slices of toast, cut in quarters and arranged around a small scoop of potato salad.

I knew I wouldn't be getting the potato salad, but I was still surprised by this:
The sandwich was buried under a generous portion of french fries. I expected that. The menu had also prepared me for the slice of cheese (cheese?), but the menu had not prepared me for the slices of mediocre ham, which were far more evident than any bacon, and the "oven roasted turkey" had clearly been roasted in an oven hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles away. A really good club sandwich should be focused on the flavors of bacon, real roasted turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Those flavors go together and complement each other. Other stuff is an annoying distraction. Grumble grumble.

Other sandwiches have been more enjoyable. The hot beef sandwich ($7.25) was more than I could eat for lunch. The mashed potatoes were made on premises and were full of nice chunks of potato. There were around six fairly thick slices of beef and at least two slices of white bread. It was all covered with dark brown gravy:

Nonetheless, the "oven roasted beef" was more like a good quality deli beef thickly sliced than real roast beef. The dark brown gravy was dark and brown and not too salty, but generally flavorless, the sort of thing I would expect to find in a jar of "dark brown gravy." Still, for $7.25, it was a steal.

I also liked the Reuben sandwich (on this day served with non-crinkle cut fries), which was a pretty good attempt at a Reuben:

The pastrami was lean and mild, the rye toast flavorful and well seeded, and the sauerkraut warmed up and placed between layers of meat so that it didn't make the bread soggy. There was a definite layer of "swiss" cheese, and a little bit of thousand island dressing. While I would've liked a bit more dressing for the sweet/sour contrast, this wasn't bad at all and well worth the $7.49.

Overall, the breakfasts are probably the most consistent food choices at Frank's – and now Frank's serves breakfast all day long.

For good old boys and girls, there is the biscuits and gravy special with two eggs and bacon or sausage ($7.25):

Though not ethereal, the biscuits were pretty good and the gravy was nicely flavored and not too thick and pasty. The sausage was decent. Over easy eggs were well cooked though Tina thought they could have been warmer, as if they were plated first, then the sausage patties, and finally the biscuits and gravy.

If the waffle itself had been a little crisper, the Belgian waffle breakfast special ($7.25) would have been outstanding:

The one time I ordered a single pancake as a side ($2.99), I thought it had a better texture and flavor than the waffle:

Maybe the best single meal that I have had at Frank's was the mushroom and Jack cheese omelette ($7.99):

Okay, the hashbrowns were pretty ordinary and not crispy enough for my taste, but the mushroom and cheese omelette was sublime:

The whole meal was good enough that I even tolerated the Smucker' s "jellies":

Similarly, Tina loves the veggie and cheese omelette ($7.99):

Notice the numerous fresh mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, diced onions, and bell pepper strips.

On the other hand, my Southwestern omelette ($7.99) was supposed to contain diced green chilies, onions, tomatoes, and Jack cheese, topped with salsa and cheddar, but there really wasn't very much in the omelette – most of the flavor came from the salsa on top:

One other thing to watch out for, while most of the omelettes are pretty good, twice Tina was served "veggie and cheese" omelettes that had a suspiciously large amount of ham:

In other words, check your omelette before eating.

Reading over this post, I realize I have been a bit picky about some things. It's my curse to get weird about stuff like packaged jellies and club sandwiches. But I don't want to convey the notion that I have not had a good time at Frank's and have not enjoyed the food. Frank's is a value restaurant, not a gourmet restaurant. For the quality of the food and the excellence of the service, the prices are incredibly cheap.  Some of the best restaurant deals in town.

On top of that, the last time I was paying the check, the cashier handed me back more money than I expected. "Why am I getting cash back?" "Oh, hon,”she said, waving her hand at me, "you get the senior discount." "I didn't know you guys had a senior discount." "We do now, so you be sure to tell all your friends."

I think I just did.

Frank's Family Dining, 2951 S. 4th Ave., Yuma, AZ 85364, (928) 276-4950. 1245 Desert Hills Dr.  

Where in the world were we....the we're back edition

Wow, we're back home, exhausted but exhilarated. Got in at midnight last night, got to sleep at 3am, back to work at 6am, so I thought I'd do one of these to regroup.

Our last major stop was just a crazy array of smells, sights, sounds.....what you'd expect from a city whose motto basically means "to eat until you drop".

We had a chance to sample to sample a few of the city's iconic dishes.....

We also got to meet up with one of my favorite food bloggers....finally, after over 8 years! Thanks again Kat and Satoshi for a fantastic evening!

There's so many eateries that you could spend your life aimlessly wandering the alleyways paralyzed with indecision.

We managed to make a few decisions and had some nice meals.

We even managed some nice side trips as well.

Ending up right where we started.....

So just hang in there for a bit while I catch up on my sleep, ok?

See you soon!