As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond since 2005.
*** Not much food in this one. I wouldn't be the least bit offended if you just came back tomorrow.....
We didn't have to check out of the apartment until noon and our train didn't leave until 1300, so we decided to make the most of the rest of our time in Ronda. To be perfectly honest, we were a bit sad to leave as the charm of this amazing locale really made an impression on us.
As soon as the morning rains had passed, we decided to take a walk around and possibly grab a cup of coffee. It was hard getting the past the views.....
It seems that no matter how many times you stared off into the beautiful valley below; you'd notice something new, something you hadn't seen before.
We headed into the Mercadillo Quarter and found a location of the chain Granier on the main pedestrian shopping street of Carretera Espinal.
While having our morning coffee, the Missus and I discussed what we should do before check out time. I suggested finding the trail on the other side of Puente Nueva that led down to the area where all those classic photos of Puente Nueva and El Tajo are taken. Bolstered by our morning caffeine we headed off.
It really wasn't hard to find. We just basically took a right, where we took a left the day before and headed down the street. From Plaza de Maria Auxiliadora, to the right of the statue of San Juan Bosco, there's a set of steps that leads to the trail down into the valley.
The views from Plaza de Maria Auxiliadora ain't shabby either, very dramatic in its own way. Check the out view of the cliffs or Alameda del Tajo where we'd taken most of our photos of the valley the previous day!
The stairs give way to a cobblestone path.....it was just a tad slippery on this morning, which gave way to a dirt path.
And you get a photo, you'll never forget. We headed back up after taking a few more photos and took a round about way back to the apartment. Passing through the square with the Church of Santa Maria la Mayor, which we had walked through the night before.
We took our time getting back to the apartment, where we freshened up, sadly packed, and checked out. Picking up some jamon and bread for our travel days had become sort of a tradition in Spain, so we found a shop right across the street from the Apartmentos Rondacentro and got some Jamon Belotta.
Our train left on time and we had to change trains......
There wasn't much going on here........
Which made it a perfect time for a jamon bocadillo break.....
Even though we'd spent only a night in Ronda, we must have really taken to the place. Arriving in Seville was a jolt to us. The crowds, the narrow streets....the metropolitan area of Seville has a population of 1.5 million people. Making it the fourth largest city in Spain. Our AirBnB apartment was located down a tiny street in Barrio Santa Cruz, a maze of streets and alleyways. We got joyfully lost several times during our first day in the city.
The first thing we needed was a map so we headed down the street and found ourselves at the Giralda (the Bell Tower) and Plaza del Triunfo and the TI was right there.
The Cathedral is quite impressive; the third largest church in Europe.
We took our time and wandered around Barrio Santa Cruz ad ended up at this pleasant square; appropriately named Plaza de Santa Cruz.
As I mentioned earlier, Santa Cruz was once the Jewish Quarter, and a Synagogue once stood at this spot. A distinctive cross rests in the center of the plaza, known as "Cruz Cerrajería" (the Locksmith’s Cross) which dates back to the 17th Century.
Close is another square; Plaza de Refinadores, with one of Seville's most famous, though fictional, personas, Don Juan. So ladies....meet the original Don Juan!
It was starting to get dark and we needed a break, so we headed back to our apartment....
Which meant winding our way thru a maze of streets.....since wifi reception in the alleyways were sometimes problematic, even pocket wifi didn't help. We did eventually find our way back; the apartment was located in an 18th century "casa de palacio", a palace house, it was quite an interesting place to stay. Dinner was coming up. We would soon find the best food of this trip to Spain in Seville.
We were really enjoying our time in Ronda. From the beautiful scenery, to the friendly people, to the, well, I'm not sure I can put it any other way, atmosphere, we were loving it.
At night, with all the day trippers gone and in low season, there just seems to be a rather romantic mystery to the place. Quiet takes over and you almost feel like your an extra in some exotic romantic thriller from another time.
It was sad that we had only one night to spend in Ronda, with one dinner.
The walk to our dinner destination took us down through the Old Town. Past the Church of Santa Maria la Mayor. Like many churches built during the Reconquista, this was constructed on the remains of a mosque. A quick look at the bell tower belies the Moorish roots of the structure.
Across the way, the light on top of Santuario Maria Auxilium shone brightly in the night.
Our destination was a little shop just inside the Almocabar Gate, once the main entrance to this side of the city. The name of the place? De Locos Tapas.
This place gets a ton of love, so I went ahead and made reservations a month before our trip. It's a good thing too; the place has but 5 tables. When I mentioned we'd be having dinner here to the lovely lady at Apartmentos Rondacentro, Hilde, she went, "aaaah, you've made a good choice, it is my favorite place in the city."
The place is run by a Husband and Wife team. It is Guillermo who is the front man, originally from Basque Country, he is very friendly, quite chatty, warm, with a great sense of humor. He speaks perfect English and is one heck of a storyteller. We were the first customers to arrive, so he took his time with us, telling us about working in a Japanese restaurant. When he found out we live in San Diego, he mentioned he lived in San Gabriel for a time. When I mentioned being from Hawaii, he regaled us with a story about his cousin (if I recall) who came back from Maui with some board shorts for Guillermo. The main pattern on those shorts was, ahem; the "cash crop", if you know what I mean. His dad pointed to the pattern on the shorts and inquired what it was. So quick thinking Guillermo, who remembered the "local" name for said herb said "pakalolo". His dad, thinking it was some kind of exotic tropical plant was satisfied. And so Guillermo got to keep his "special" board shorts.
The menu at De Locos is a combination of various traditional and some very non-traditional tapas. Many with an Asian twist from the time Guillermo worked in the Japanese restaurant. There was also a menu written in Korean. According to Guillermo, there are many Korean visitors during January and February. The Korean menu is an abbreviated version of the hand written menu, consisting of items that their Korean clientele often order.
We had a blast figuring out what to order and decided (quite rightfully so) to stray from the norm except for a few dishes.
We started with the "Quail's Nest". Quail eggs lying in a "nest" made of "Kataifi", shredded filo dough. As you can tell from this dish, the presentation of some of the dishes are composed in a lovely, flashy-whimsical way. The quail eggs were nice but nothing special, the filo a bit too dry and crumbly. Not bad.
The Artichokes and Jamon, a more mainstream dish was downright delish.
The artichokes were nicely seasoned, the texture excellent, a bit of crunch, but not tough. The jamon added that nice savory touch that paired nicely with everything. The mustard based sauce was a nice slightly pungent touch. The Missus (of course) loved the fried egg.
The Truffle Egg presentation was very nice.
Lovely flavors, just enough truffle oil, the jamon again adding a nice touch of savory. The only complaint was that the egg was overcooked for my taste.
My favorite dish, hands down was the Pork Tataki....yes, basically seared, ultra rare pork.
Man, the textures and the flavors, touches of ginger....good lord, this was so good. I've learned that sometimes I just need to go with my instincts....and while the Missus still sometimes has doubts (see torisashi), she's learned that there are times when you need to throw caution to the wind. Many times, the payoff is a memorable dish like this one. I've heard that Japanese is the "in" cuisine in places like Barcelona now.....so I'm looking forward to returning and getting some "Tataki de presa ibérica".
Meanwhile, Guillermo is from Basque Country, so I had to order the Txangurro (Spider Crab), a Basque regional specialty.
For some reason, this didn't do it for us......not enough crab flavor, a bit too mushy, and in need of some additional seasoning.
And while the Octopus was decent, perhaps a bit too chewy, but nicely flavored....those potatoes, the truffle oil.....was delish.
The Sea Bass Ceviche was nicely seasoned, refreshing, though I prefer mine with a bit more citrus.
Since there was Foie Gras on the menu, you know we had to order it, right? This came with a very nice tangy, passion fruit sorbet which acted like a nice intermezzo. The foie was decently seared, the texture wonderful. I did find it a bit too much on the sweet side. Of course, perhaps I've become a bit jaded having had so much foie gras over the last couple of years.
The Ox Cheeks were nicely done, I've yet to meet a version of carrillada that I didn't enjoy in Spain.
We also ordered the Deer Tenderloin which we affectionately called "Bambi".
Tasting like a more gamey version of the Ox Cheeks this was very tender and quite tasty.
For dessert the Missus chose the Gin and Tonic Sorbet which has a wonderful combination of tart, sweet, citrus tones, and black pepper (!). It was the perfect end to this meal.
While not every dish was a hit....and with this many, it's hard to do...remember, this isn't Azurmendi or even Disfrutar, the meal topped out at 60 Euros! That's right, with a couple of glasses of wine...all of this, a shade over sixty bucks! Plus, we had a blast chatting with Guillermo. And while, perhaps, this wasn't the best meal of our recent trip, it was by far, the most fun we'd had during a meal in a while! And that really does matter.
If you're planning to visit De Locos Tapas; make reservations, have an open mind....and relax....you'll have a good time!
De Locos Tapas Arquitecto Pons Sorolla 7 Ronda, Spain
We took our time walking back to our apartment. The Missus climbed up one of the stairways on the city wall and took the photo of the Old Town above. We stopped at the same spot where we took a photo of Puente Nuevo earlier in the day. It's just as beautiful, if not more so, at night.
As we got back to the apartment......
We decided to take a detour and walk around the building overlooking the valleys, where we came across this......
Much like Miki Haruta, I had to look this one up when I got home.
As we walked around the Parador de Ronda, I took one of my favorite photos.....
And then another photo from our patio......
You know, there's something true about this.
I still smile when I think of Ronda....which led me to this on YouTube.....
BTW.....we visited a couple of places in the video. That jamon guy and the shoe store sure look familiar.
mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog and Kirk, Ed(from Yuma) and Cathy usually post about memorable meals here. Today, Kirk is exhausted, Ed(from Yuma) is recharging and Cathy has the energy to write a post. Here it is.
Narumi is the new name of Shizuoka, which underwent new ownership about a year ago, after being a three decade mainstay in La Mesa. The front windows are now unadorned, bringing more natural light into the small dining area.
A small (three seat) sushi bar area has been added. The lacy plastic tablecloths are gone. There are boards advertising special items and prices; many are rolls.
The standard bowl of miso soup begins each meal.Mixed tempura appetizer ($5.95) is still a favorite, properly fried/crispy and not greasy. It can be a meal.Chicken Karrage ($4.95) is made with a light batter, is properly fried and the chicken is moist and flavorful.
Being a creature of habit, I've had multiple orders the same 'Daily Special' ($7.95) of teriyaki chicken..you can choose a tempura shrimp or spicy tuna roll as well as edamame or fries. The teriyaki is very good (not sweet) and the char grilled chicken is always moist and has that good charred taste. Another fallback order I have here is the Seafood Salad ($9.95). The salad mix, topped with crispy burdock has cucumber and avocado added in. Shrimp, salmon, tuna and at least one other fish are part of the seafood toppings. The sesame based dressing is just right. The chicken yakisoba special lunch ($7.95) is served with soup, salad and potstickers and always is satisfying' the noodles have that 'wok hay' flavor.The chicken curry ($7.95) is very good and comforting, especially on cold days.
The new owners honored the previous owners by keeping many of the same things: hours, lunch specials (and even the Shizuoka name for about nine months). Some menu items are gone (I loved the mackerel bento lunch here) and the addition of many pages of rolls and sushi items to the menu seems to have brought in new customers, many picking up to go items. Change happens and in this case, it is subtle and remains tasty.
Thanks for dropping by to read mmm-yoso!!! Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) have been posting a lot lately and even though Cathy hasn't posted, she has been eating. Today's post is one of her eating adventures.
This year is slipping by; more than 1/3 is over and I'm still referring to '2015' on some documents. Work has been busy and visiting with friends and family has occurred. The other morning, after a quick stop at San Diego International Airport, The Mister and I stuck around the Balboa Park area and stopped at a place we each had passed many times. It was a time for us to enjoy some well deserved rest.
Extraordinary Desserts has been open at this location in the Bankers Hill area of San Diego (a block West of Balboa Park) since 2005 about 1994 and has had a storefront in Little Italy since 2006. Karen Krasne, a San Diego native and Cordon Bleu trained pastry chef, was honored with multiple awards for her skills long before her storefronts were in existence (1988).
Walking into the store, though the outdoor seating area, begins the visual stimulation. There are some condiments available for purchase, as well as whole cakes. Walking toward the cashier, there are three main areas to choose individual servings of pastries available that day. (The third area is on a shelf behind the open counter). There is also a small menu of coffee and other hot beverages to choose from.
You order, pay and have a seat and the preparation of beverages and plating occurs. Then your order is brought out.This wonderful slice of blood orange ricotta cake ($9.50) was quite filling and the plating included gold flecked orange slices, a mango-raspberry puree and edible rose petals. The ricotta cake is soaked in blood orange juice so is very moist and flavorful on its own. The whipped cream frosting is also made with blood orange juice. Cranberries and raspberries are part of the frosting that is between layers. This is so good.
This Blackberry and blueberry scone ($3.95) was warmed before the simple decorations of rose petals and powdered sugar topped it. It was a flaky layered, buttery rich pastry, not too sweet and complimented by the fresh berries. Quite large and an excellent scone.
Open late as well as early, this is great, locally owned place.
Extraordinary Desserts 2929 Fifth Avenue San Diego, CA 92103 Website Open Mon-Thurs 8:30 a.m.-11:00p.m. Fri 8:30 a.m.-midnight Sat 10 a.m.-midnight Sun 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
mmm-yoso!!! is a foodblog focusing on San Diego and the world. Kirk posts most, Cathy posts often, and today Ed (from Yuma) posts this.
Every year the Yuman food truck culture spawns more spots. Here's a couple:
Mariscos Güero
Angie, Tina's manager at work, was raving about a fantastic seafood molcajete at a place on Ave B, just a little south of 8th Street. So a couple of weeks later Tina and I found the place, Mariscos Güero, tucked behind another truck on the east side of B:
There are a few tables and folding chairs sheltered under canvas with windbreaks on all sides. On the truck there’s a menu with no prices (though prices are fair):
On our first visit, in the evening, there were few customers (and the nice folks at the truck said they would be closing evenings once the main season was over). At weekday lunch, the place can be quite busy:
On our first visit, Tina and I had a molcajete:
It was packed with cooked shrimp, octopus, and surimi. The seafood was mixed with large slices of red onion and cucumber pieces, all topped with generous wedges of avocado. The sauce was exceptional –flavors of seafood, lime, chili spice, and even a touch of soy sauce. Overall very good.
We also ordered a ceviche tostada:
Also very good. The sweetness of the fresh raw and cooked shrimp came through the lime. The fresh chopped onions and cucumbers and crunchy tortilla gave textural balance.
On my next visit, I ordered two fish and one shrimp taco:
Here's a close-up of a fish taco:
The tortilla, cabbage, and tomato were fresh and fine, but the crema was awfully thin and lacking in flavor. While the breading on the seafoods was not crunchy, neither the fish nor shrimp were overcooked so they tasted fresh and moist.
On my last visit, it was time for a campechana:
That's huge. And it is filled with a lot of good stuff:
When I ordered the mixed seafood cocktail, I was asked if I wanted it with "blood clam." "Sure," I answered, "con todo." I hadn't run across a campechana with blood clam (also known as concha negra, black clam) since Tio Juan’s disappeared from 8th Street. Here is one of them:
I did not know that some websites list blood clam as one of the most dangerous foods in the whole world. Of course, my old seafood purveyors in Monterey sell them, so maybe not all that deadly.
In any case, I am still alive and feeling good, so I guess I dodged another bullet (picture smiley face of your choice here). I also had the joy of consuming a really wonderful campechana. The octopus and shrimp were not overcooked. The surimi had a pleasant sweetness that I liked. But the mollusks were the stars: the abundant octopus had a perfect chewiness and octopus flavor; the clams had a different chew and were distinctly clammy; and the few fresh bay scallops were tender and lightly flavored. The cocktail juice tasted of cooking water, tomato sauce, (Clamoto?), lime juice, and a hint of soy. With a little bit of salsa it was perfect for my palate.
Taqueria San Pedro
This taco stand on 8th Street has long been a favorite of Tina and me. Though they quit serving hotdogs, their carne asada and other tacos, as well as the attractive ramada area, made it a good place for a quick dinner.
We had noticed, however, that the place seemed to be deteriorating slowly – the leather seats becoming ragged and torn. Then one evening San Pedro was not open. No sign and no sign of life. Oh well, we shrugged, that's the world of taco trucks.
A couple of months ago, we were cruising 8th Street and saw billows of fragrant looking smoke rising from the back of a lot. "Oh My God," Tina exclaimed, "it's San Pedro!" And so it was:
Pedro himself was still there being grillmaster. But the interior had been renovated – now more closed off and refurnished:
Wow. Fancy tables and chairs, a tiled floor, even a heater. The menu, still very small, is on every napkin dispenser:
After we ordered, the first thing brought over was a cup of frijoles:
Good, simple pinto beans in a light broth. Good by themselves, but made even better by adding some of the condiments:
Notice the spicy and the roasted salsa. The guacamole sauce was thinner than eight years ago, and many of the other items were nothing special. However, we really enjoyed the mild and fresh pico de gallo:
and loved the roasted jalapenos, mellowed and sweetened by the grill:
Then came volcanes:
Basically, a volcan is just a vampira except that the cheese goes atop the carne asada rather than between the meat and the desiccated corn tortilla. This was excellent, crunchy and toothsome with meaty asada.
The taco San Pedro is another Sonoran specialty, matching cheese, roasted green chile pepper, and quality asada:
This night, the cabeza was decent but nothing special:
What was our favorite? The tripa:
Tripa is difficult to get right. Sometimes too musty, often too rubbery, and usually too flavorless. This one, however, was perfect. Crunchy in places with a little char, and what was not crunchy was tender chewy. Porky good. Yum.
Recently, I was picking up my dry cleaning, when the nice lady who runs the place asked me what I thought about the new pho place that opened up nearby. I hadn't even noticed! I guess I kinda forget about The Village at Morena Vista. So I drove by and saw a grand opening sign for "Pho Kitchen". For some reason the name sounded familiar. A couple of days later I returned to try them out.
It's a very nice and clean little shop. There's both wood paneling and vintage Vietnamese black and white photos here. I guess they're not taking any design chances!
The young lady who took my order on both my visits was an absolute joy; kind, friendly, and efficient. What more could one ask for? Other than good pho, right? I also asked her if they had another restaurant in these parts since the name sounded familiar. She smiled and said "yes, Pho Kitchen in Oceanside". So there you go. I thought the name rung a bell.
The pho here was not too bad; definitely "pho not to offend", very mild, not too beefy, low in oil/fat, no anise/pungent flavors, but not terrible. The MSG level was not too high, the broth was super hot; like scalding hot, which I enjoy. The proteins were decent; the rare steak was actually pretty good, not the usual slices of cardboard, though everything else was just ok; the tendon was too tough and the rest pretty bland.
As expected with the target pho audience here; the place was light on the sprouts and herbs, though both were sparkling fresh. The noodles weren't in the usual clump, which was nice, but over cooked and a bit too mushy for my taste.
It was actually a not bad bowl.
Which meant I needed to revisit and try something else. After the pho, I was interested in the Bo Kho, so I got he Banh Mi Bo Kho ($8).
Much like the pho; this version of beef stew was rather mild in flavor, no tangy-anise tones, though slightly beefy, the carrots severely undercooked. The stew was on the thin side, but there were 5 rather large pieces of fork tender beef. Only one piece of tendon, which was not bad in texture. I would have enjoyed a bit more cilantro and onions. The bread was interesting as it reminded me more of a bolillo than a typical banh mi and had a mild sweetness to it. It was nicely warm and toasted though.
So here's the deal. Pho Kitchen and Pho Hut are about equidistant from my house and in opposite directions. In this case; I'd choose Pho Kitchen. If I'm looking for pho as I know and enjoy; I'd choose one of the more traditional places in Linda Vista, though I don't think they've held up well in recent years. If I want a relaxing pace, with middle of the road pho, but really nice service, it's Pho Kitchen hands down......unless I want to get the hell out of Dodge in 20 minutes or less. In that case, I'd go with the "fastest pho in the West". The prices are in line with all those "modern pho" places that seem to be popping up recently.
In case you missed the post in Eater. I noticed that the former Coco's on the corner of Clairemont Mesa and Ruffner was being built out, so I walked on over. There's no mistaking the logo...plus the "626" area code.
My good buddy Candice expressed disappointment that I hadn't tried out Bitter Brothers since it was basically in my 'hood. So I made some time to visit recently. I like the set-up, typical industrial-hipster, but in a good way. Wide open, nice breezes blowing through. The beer server was fairly all business at the beginning, spending most of his times with his "bro's", but warmed up after I had got past the tasters phase.
I got tasters of the Little Brother Citra Session IPA and the Prickly Pear version of the Family Tart Berliner Weisse.
That Session was very nice and drinkable, that tart Berlinerweisse was really good, not too dry, but definitely a Berlinerweisse, just sweet-sour enough. I've got to bring the Missus here for this one.
I finished up with a nice Dunkelweiss, great not too overpowering chocolate tones.
Nice place, drinkable beers....nothing over 6 ABV if I recall, great for a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Bitter Brothers Brewing 4170 Morena Blvd San Diego, CA 92117
Back to the Poseidon Project:
The reason I hadn't been to Bitter Brothers was that I've been enjoying the Poseidon Project since they've opened. The vibe and very friendly folks keep me coming back. I'll bring in some take-out and have a nice meal when the Missus is working.
On this fine Thursday I didn't have to worry about that since two of my favorite neighborhood places joined forces.
I'm hoping they increase the number of pulls, which now numbers 8.
But don't discount the bottles....I was quite surprised to find the bottle prices in line with most retail locations. And once in a while they have some nice surprises.
Love the way they've embraced the neighborhood....the place is crazy dog friendly and food friendly. I think someone was having a birthday the other night and brought in like three boxes of pizzas......no problem.
I'm wondering what'll happen when my friends and I bring in a bushel of oysters???? For some reason, I think they'll be just fine with that.
Poseidon Project 4126 Napier St San Diego, CA 92110
Here are a couple of "bonus bottles". Interesting stuff from the Bruery.
This one I first had at Poseidon. It's a nice dessert type of brew.
For some reason; and I'm not big fan of regular Horchata, but The Bruery's Or Xata really hit a home with me. Great, balanced, not too sweet tones. Great mouthfeel. To me, the base flavor seems closer to coconut than cinnamon though......
Whenever we travel, time permitting, I try to schedule something a bit different. To be perfectly honest, I had never heard of Ronda before this trip. While doing a bit of research I saw a photo, then read that Ronda is easily accessible by train. So I decided that we'd stay for a night on our way to Seville from Granada. We're so glad we stayed here. And to be perfectly honest, wished that we had more time.
Everything just seemed so perfect; the hotel, the Apartmentos Rondacentro was our favorite on this trip. About a 20 minutes walk from the train station, we had Unit A1, which had a fantastic view from the balcony.
Though I don't think there's a bad view anywhere around here.
But first we had to get there. We left Granada fairly early, walking from Plaza Nueva to Granada's Train Station, stopping for a "café solo" from Cafe Opera 5. Construction of the rail line to Granada and renovations around the station were going on during our stay. So we were bussed from Granada Train Station to Antequera-Santa Ana Station.
And while I sorely wished for some Ekiben Stands, we'd come prepared. We call it the "Madrid plan" where we purchase bread, jamon, and olive oil in advance and have that on the train, in the airport, or in this case in the train station. The nice olive oil we bought in Mercado Augustin and we'd found some decent Jamon Bellota Iberico Pata Negra at one of the shops on the way back to the apartment the night before.
Which kept us satisfied and made our train trip a lot more pleasant.
It was drizzly when we arrived in the White Hill town of Ronda. The walk to the apartment was easy....as I mentioned before, the location is spectacular with a view of the valley below. The place was also quite new and the woman who runs the front desk named Hilde was a joy.
There was a mini-kitchen and the all important washing machine/dryer. After freshening up a bit we headed out.
Plaza de Toros was a mere few steps away. Ronda is the birthplace of modern bullfighting. Francisco Romero is said to have invented the cape (Muleta) and sword system in Ronda. Before this, knights on horses fought the bulls. His grandson, Pedro Romero is said to have been perhaps the greatest ever.
The Bullring is a much visited site, but we'd arrived rather late and decided that we'd use our time to visit other places. Like the Alameda del Tajo, a park which wraps around the Bullring and has a beautiful balcony from which you can view the valley and the mountains.
The clouds and approaching rain added an even more dramatic touch to things.
As you can tell, Ronda is located above the valley and gorge. This served a purpose providing protection for first the Romans, then the Moors until the city fell in 1485.
The scenic bridge in the first photo is called "Puente Nuevo" and crossed the ravine named El Tajo. It connects the "Old Town", with the whitewashed Moorish buildings to the El Mercadillo; the new town.
The Missus decided that She wanted to the bottom of the gorge through the Old Town, but first we decided to finish checking out the park.
This memorial caught my eye, because it looked distinctly Japanese.
It had the name Miki Haruta inscribed. I was intrigued. Turns out that Miki Haruta was an artist, who came to Ronda, fell in love with the village, and didn't leave until his death in 1995.
We then headed up Calle Jerez until we came upon this shop.
Looking into the shop, I was met with this sight, which I described to my friends as, "I think this is what heaven looks like"!
Of course we got "cien grams" Jamon Bellota Pata Negra and a bottle of some local wine for the Missus.
Boy, the smells were intoxicating. Though I'm not sure what's up with the framed slice of jamon? Is it like the "framing the first dollar earned" thing? I do know the guy in Chef's Whites, it's Dani Garcia who got a Michelin Star for the now closed Tragabuches restaurant while at the helm.
It was a nice interesting stop.
La Casa del Jamón Calle Jerez 28 Ronda, Spain
We headed on back to the apartment, got a load of laundry going, then crossed the Puente Nuevo into the Old Town.
There's a nice viewpoint from across the bridge.
From here we headed on down....taking a break at the Palace of the Marquis of Salvatierra.
It's quite a distinct structure with an even more interesting feature. Take a look at the four pre-Columbian figures framing the windows and above the balcony. These are Inca Indians! Symbolic of the far reach of Spanish Colonialism.
Right below the palace you can get a nice view of the "Puente Viejo", the Old Bridge which was constructed in 1616 upon the ruins of another bridge.
And the Arab Baths.
Taking a quick turn you come to a gate. This is the Arch of Philip V which was built in 1742 on the site of another gate that was located there.
We headed on down the stairs right before the Old Bridge, then swung around when we arrived at the cute, tiny, little church.
And arrived at the oldest bridge in Ronda....yes, older than the Old Bridge; called either the Arab Bridge, The Moorish Bridge, the San Miguel Bridge, or the Roman Bridge, depending who to talk to.
For many centuries, this was the entrance to Ronda. Nice view of the Old Bridge as well.
Heading back to the Old Bridge; you could really get an impression on how imposing a task it would be to take this fortified village.
We made our way back to the New Town by crossing the Old Bridge and walking up via the terraces.
At the highest most terrace, I saw a guy standing outside the gate to the street. I got kind of worried as he just seemed to be loitering around. Turns out, he had the keys to the entrances to the terraces and since it had started to rain pretty hard it was time to close the gates. He was waiting for us to finish taking our photos........what a nice guy. I felt so bad for making him wait. It took another 15 minutes to get back to the apartment, where it was time for a shower and a nap.
But first things first.
We needed some sustenance.....something to keep us going....something like; well the jamon we bought earlier. Great thing about jamon, it doesn't need refrigeration. I just like to leave it out and watch it sweat....I hope to see some sweat. That tells me there's a good fat content. As things stood, this was cut well, but it lacked that jamon sweetness and deep flavor and was too salty.
Our last evening in Granada would turn out to be a lot of fun. We had made no plans and just walked on over to Plaza de Bib Rambla and strolled around watching the other tourists.....
As we meandered through the square, the Missus had made up Her mind.......we headed back around the back of the Cathedral......
And while She really enjoyed the Blanco Seco here, I think She was wondering if we'd get a repeat of any of the tapas we'd had on previous nights. Answer was no.....
Things started with a quite hefty Tortilla Española, an omelet that was topped with a nice garlic aioli. Love the way they toast the bread here; it's light and crunchy.
For our second glass, we thought this was a repeat.....but it wasn't. On our first visit, we'd had a wonderful garlic-onion toast which looked much like this.
Except this had chicken in it; making it quite filling as well. The Missus really enjoyed the suspense of wondering what the upcoming mystery tapas was going to be. And there's no place we enjoyed more than Saint Germain.
Saint Germain Calle Postigo Velutti 4 Granada, Spain
When we left Saint Germain, it was but 0845...much too early to turn in, especially in Spain. So we decided to make yet another stop.....walking past the Ayuntamiento - the Town Hall topped with the stunning bronze equestrian statue by Ramiro Megías.
Straight down Calle Navas which then turned to Calle del Rosario was another wine bar. This one was recommended by a fan of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown.....he mentioned a place named La Tana, which we had passed two nights previous. Even though I didn't have the chance to watch that episode of Bourdain's show, we decided that we should check them out before we left Granada, so here we were.
Man, this place was packed.......
With one amazing woman running the entire bar! Herself! She never missed a beat. The place was crazy packed and when I got my beer and the Missus Her cava we were pretty sure that our tapa would take a while. So we were amazed when we saw folks passing a plate across the room! Our tapa!
Lovely, flavorful tomatoes, simply seasoned with salt and black pepper...I really took to the olives in Andalucia as well.
The same thing happened when we got a second glass.....this time anchovy with a nice salmorejo.
I was just amazed at how this woman worked everything so efficiently. She never missed an order, never missed getting anyone their tapa.
After having our two glasses we decided to head out and on our way. The woman knew exactly what we had.....the Missus was so taken with how efficient this woman was She typed out a little message and translated it to Spanish. The woman asked one of the other customers to translate, but the Missus had already translated it - "eres un tesoro". "You are a treasure". The customer smiled and told us, "yes, this is true!" The woman was tickled and borrowed the Missus's phone so she could show the other customers....that yes, indeed, she is a treasure! Love the friendliness and warmth of the folks in Granada.
Taberna La Tana Calle Rosario 11 Granada, Spain
Granada had indeed gotten to us. We headed back via Calle Navas. Near Plaza del Carmen we noticed this rather distinctive bar.
Peeking in the window we saw....Jesus everywhere!
How could we not have a drink here! So we had a seat under.....Jesus and other stuffs.....
Just one older gentleman manning the bar and small kitchen.
Good lord, he gave us a rather large plate of sausage and potatoes as our tapa!
Nothing fancy, but very hearty....and free with our glasses of wine....like 3 Euros as piece!
Quite a unique place with very friendly service.
El Tabernaculo Calle Navas 27 Granada, Spain
On a side note. When we returned home I watched the Granada episode of Parts Unknown, to see the La Tana scene. And then on came El Tabernaculo! Jesus! Bourdain went to the Jesus bar!
By this time, the Missus had decided that I'd had a bit too much tapas, so she marched me right back up the Albayzin to the Mirador San Nicolas. I must admit, the view at night is quite stunning as well.
After taking a few photos, we headed back down Cuesta del Chapiz and walked back to Plaza Nueva via Paseo de los Tristes (Walk of the Dead Ones).
While packing for an early getaway in the morning, I sipped a beer and munched on some Jamon and Queso chips. While we'd seen everything we wanted to and like most places we've visited, the city seemed to be shrinking everyday, we really enjoyed Granada. I'm not sure if we'll ever be back....but then again, Saint Germain and La Tana beckons, so who knows?
Our third stop in the Hipster Taco tour. Over the last few months, I made a couple of stops at Tacos Perla. I'm kind of late to the show here, so you may want to just check out Kirbie's or CC'sposts instead. Located near the hipster ramen haven, Underbelly, Tacos Perla occupies a nice spot on the corner of 30th and Upas.
Being an old fart, I love the black and white movies projected on the rear of the small dining room.
On one of my visits they were showing Fun in Acapulco....my late Mom was a big Elvis fan, though not as big as my best friends mother who went To Elvis's Aloha from Hawaii concert in 1973. I still kid that tough talking cigarette smoking "Tita" about going all goo-goo and gaga and crying because she loved Elvis so much. Anyway, I grew up listening to Elvis, and "No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car" was a big favorite along with Wooden Heart. Which I got to sing when I was in a oldies band waaaay back when.....waaaay back when. But that's another story.
One of the draws to Tacos Perla is the short, but quite interesting collection of salsas. It's nice that they have a pairing list as well.
On my first visit I went with three tacos that interested me. At that time it was a pretty pricy proposition, $4.95 for "non-traditional" tacos and $3.95 for "traditional" style tacos. Not a huge list of items to choose from, but that's not important if everything is well prepared and flavors to match.
As you can tell, I also added a side of Chapulines (crickets) for 75 cents. It had been a while since I'd had chapulines, which really have little flavor (when prepped well), but adds a nice crunch to things.
I really enjoy a good Al Pastor/Adobada, so I started with that.
I found the adobada to be a bit gummy and tough. So I decided to add the crickets to this. Not my favorite version of adobada as I found the flavors lacking, especially in sweet and savory tones.
The tortillas struck me as well. Liked the rather rustic homemade feel, but it was a bit too crumbly and there was a tad of sweetness that I could detect as well.
The Ocho ($4.95) was no-brainer for me since I love most edible Cephalopods.
Loved the texture of the octopus, was less enamored with the rather weak flavorings, which did just enough to mask any brininess provided by the octopus, but didn't bring much else to the table. I've had everything from sannakji to pulpo zarandeado, to wonderful versions in Greece and smoked tako back home in Hawaii. This was a bit of a disappointment in the "what could have been" kind of way.
The best of the bunch was the Del Mar (Shrimp).
The achiote based seasoning didn't interfere with the pure flavor of the shrimp. The jack cheese added just the right amount of milkiness and salt to this for me. The recommended "pico de gallo" was a perfect match, good acid-tangy-pungent flavors that didn't mess about with this.
I did return two more times, I'll spare you the second visit, which was kind of basically the same to see if I held the same opinion, with the addition of a carne asada taco, which ended up having quite a bit more gristle that I anticipated. That Del Mar still came out on top.
I decided to drop by one more time after I heard that Tacos Perla had dropped their prices......great news since I thought almost fifteen bucks for three tacos was kind of pushing it for this type of ingredients put together in this manner, with this portion size.
So, I dropped by once again. This time things were a bit cheaper.
This left a bit to be desired in terms of flavor as it was very bland. Too many underseasoned components. The salsa, advertised as fire roasted pepper and papaya really lacked smokiness, heat, or even enough sweetness to really matter. Strange thing, the main thing I recall with this is how much I could mainly taste the tortilla.....
I tried the Carne Asada yet again. In terms of flavor it was much better; I swear, there's some soy sauce here?
It was still a bit to "gristlely" for my taste.
The surprise was the Taco de Pescado. Folks who've read this blog long enough know because of having to deal with quite a bit of mahimahi in a previous life, I'm a bit hesitant about ordering it as it attains a rather "sour" taste beyond 48 hours.
This was quite decent, perhaps edging on a bit too salty, but tempered by the mango salsa. I do prefer a more crisp batter for my fish tacos though.
So, in the end, I think the Missus is going to stick with City Tacos, though I'll keep tabs on Tacos Perla....I'm sure I'll visit again the future.
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