mmm-yoso!!!

Kotobuki - It's "R&R" Week

I'm sure you're asking what the heck "R&R Week" is......and no; it's not "Rest and Relaxation", though I wish it was. This week; other than travel type posts, I'll (finally) get around to posting some of the "Recommendations and Requests" that I've gotten. I've often said; this blog would not exist without the wonderful comments, question, recommendations, and requests I get. Right off, I'll say that my definition of "R&R" might be rather broad; it could be just a quick email, comment, you know "have you tried????" kind of thing. But, I hope you enjoy these posts......

Several months back "Julie" mentioned Kotobuki in the comments of my most recent Kokoro post; saying "fish quality is fantastic". So, over the last couple of months I made a couple of visits to this rather low-keyed location (I believe it used to be Wa Sushi), in the corner of the strip mall that houses Khan's Cave, Boll Weevil, and La Miche.

In between meetings I headed over to Kotobuki right after opening for lunch.

The place is rather spartan; on both my lunch visits, a charming little girl was coloring and doing other things at one table. The Itaemae is an older gentlemen.

The sushi bar is "walled off"; so you really can't ogle the fish, nor watch the Itamae in action.

The lunch menu had several items priced rather reasonably; so I ordered the Chirashi Lunch ($14.99).

I wasn't a big fan of the watered down miso soup. The sushi meshi had a nice balance that I enjoyed; not too over-powering sour tones; but was quite pleasant and the rice was prepped nicely.

Of the fish; the salmon was nicely fatty and tender; the maguro quite decent, meaty with no off flavors, and the Hamachi was tender, almost buttery. The tamago had a nice eggy-sweetness and was fairly supple. The shiromi; the whitefish was dry and the shrimp mushy.

With some tea; this made for a decent meal.

A few weeks later; I decided to drop by for lunch again and got the Sashimi Lunch Combo ($15.99).

The miso soup was the same as was the Hamachi, very nice texture.

The maguro wasn't the best cut this time around; on the tough side and dry. The Tai was pretty good, slight chew, mild sweetness. The salmon was fine, though not as good as on my previous visit.

The rice was fluffy and moist.

This was fine; though I had enjoyed the chirashi a bit more.

After my two lunches; I decided to drop by for dinner and was seated at the bar. That wood paneling really separates you from watching the Itamae and he seemed to not want to converse with his customers. In fact, you order by menu from the Server and have no interaction with the Itamae. This kind of takes away form the experience in my mind. I've always thought that eating at the sushi bar was a very personal, somewhat intimate experience......

I did ask the very efficient young lady what was good today and was told, "it's on the menu...…." Ok......

I placed my order and was served all my nigiri at once.

The nigiri are on the smaller size; even smaller than the Edomae stylings of Tadokoro; though it makes for a decent small bite.

The Kanpachi was a lot whiter than what I've seen in the past. It also seemed a bit fattier, with a mild sweetness.

I'm fairly certain it wasn't escolar and was told in no uncertain terms it was Kanpachi; which to me is Greater Amberjack. Whatever; this , in terms of texture was quite good.

The Hotate, scallop was sliced a bit too thinly for my taste and wasn't very sweet.

The Maguro had that "tinny" flavor that I don't care for, though in terms of fat and texture, it was the best of the three portions I'd had so far.

And it had that "center cut" to ensure it could be folded over the rice.

The Toro was very good; nice texture, meaty, buttery, no off flavors.

It was a pleasure to eat.

I had requested my Tamago to be served last, which they did.

It was a nice piece of tamago; just as good as what I'd had in the Chirashi and with a mild sweetness and the light handed touches to the shari; this was a nice "dessert" of sorts.

As you can see; I'm not a real big eater and this enough for me. Kotobuki seems like a decent neighborhood sushi bar; though the service seemed all business. Or perhaps it was just that "wall" in front of the sushi bar and the Itamae not engaging customers. The prices are good, the quality decent. Perhaps I'll drop by in the future again.

Kotobuki
9340 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon - Fri 11am - 2pm, 5pm - 9pm
Saturday  5pm - 9pm

Thanks for the recommendation Julie!

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Road Test #4, Breakfast at Burger Depot (La Puente)

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about interesting meals and how said meals came to be. Today, Cathy is writing; Kirk is exhausted with work.

Link to 2020 Road test #1 

Link to 2020 Road Test #2

Link to 2020 Road Test #3

Link to 200 Road Tests #5 and #6

Another Road Test weekend for the floats participating in the 2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade.  The Mister and I woke at 4, left home at 5, drove through on and off light rain to Tustin for some snacks at the Kolache Factory then headed to Irwindale to the Phoenix Decorating Company to watch floats for the Rose Parade being tested along Ornelas Street. 

 "Plant a Garden, Believe in Tomorrow" presented by Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. Mrs. Meyer's makes household cleaners with scents inspired by a backyard midwest garden. The white 'outline' on the float resembles the outline on the label of each of the Mrs. Meyer's products. The flowers -both the sunflowers at the back and the roses along the sides- are animated and will be tilting (and smiling) along the parade route. 
It looks like the City of Hope float will simply have the same title, going along with the "Power of Hope" theme of the parade. 
Here is progression of construction of the float "Cultivating Curiosity" presented by The Huntington, a Pasadena Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens celebrating its 100th year in 2020.  Ed (from Yuma) and Tina enjoyed a lovely tea and visit here in 2014.
The Royal Court (which will be announced on Monday September 30) will be riding on this float during the Parade.  The Court serves as year round ambassadors for the Tournament and each member receives a small ($7500) education scholarship. Follow The Rose Examiner for more information about the Royal Court and other information about the Tournament activities. 
The Shriners float and the United Sikh Mission also had their floats tested this day.   The float barn is filling up!  22 of the 44 floats in the parade will be constructed here. 

The Mister and I headed home down Vincent Street, one block East of Irwindale Avenue.  We passed a few places that looked interesting.  Vincent turns into S. Glendora Avenue which then turns into N. Hacienda Boulevard. There's a five way signal light at the triangle corner of  N. Hacienda and N. Unruh.  Look at those signs.  Look at the shape of the building.  You know we had to stop. 

The menu, above and on the counter by the order and pay register, isn't too overwhelming. 

You can watch your food being cooked in a non-hipster open kitchen concept.  It's brought out to your table.
 The chicken breast and eggs breakfast ($7.55) comes with flat-top crisped potatoes and toast. The eggs were over easy (even that broken one still oozed yolk), the chicken was moist and tasty. A great, healthy breakfast.  
Chilaquiles ($7.99) were made to order (I saw fresh tortillas being grilled up before being drowned in the home made, chile de arbol based sauce (spicy!)).  Topped with perfect over easy eggs with sides of refried beans (also made here; many were whole) and more crunchy potatoes.  We are going to return to try hamburgers here, since the name is Hamburger Depot. They are probably pretty good. 

Hamburger Depot 1169 N. Hacienda Blvd. La Puente, CA 91744 (626) 917-1872

Turo Turo Thursday - Revisits to Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles and R & B Filipino Cuisine

The last few weeks have ben rather hectic; so the guys at work have been kind enough to grab me something to eat when they head out. Of course, they are growing boys (though it's sadly growing horizontally rather than vertically), so they are looking for some major grinds. Thus, turo turo is always a good idea!

I have to give them specific instructions....in the manner of sisig….at least they know what that is....but then it's get "a beef stewish dish"...if I told them mechado or kaldereta, they'd be lost....and if I told them menudo; they'd be looking for soup....you know, right?

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles:

**** Mama Cinia has closed

Wow, I haven't had anything from Mama Cinia's in quite a while. I'd instructed to ask for "half rice"; which was nicely done.

The Sisig wasn't overly waxy, still had some crunchy textures, but was really low in terms of vinegar and spiciness.

The portion of menudo was huge! This wasn't overly greasy but needed a bit more acidity as the tomato tones were pretty subdued. The meat was fairly tender and beefy, but this could have used more overall flavor as it was on the bland side.

The rice was on the dry side.

Mama Cinia Rice & Noodles
9178 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

R & B Filipino Cuisine:

R&B is a favorite of Calvin's and I gotta say it's pretty good overall. I hadn't been back there in a while either; though Cathy visited a few months back. To quote; "we got you rice and pancit, sisig, and a I think, beef something....." It was Kaldereta.

The pancit was fine if a bit on the bland side. The rice was also decent; not too mushy nor hard. The sisig here was solid; with nice spice, sour tones, crunchy bits....though some where on the hard side.

The Kaldereta was on the greasy side as it had a ton of oil floating on the top. The meat itself was tender; though the carrots were under-cooked. It was also on the salty side and could have used more tomato, garlic and perhaps some liver spread to add more depth of flavor.

Couldn't complain about the portion size though.

R & B Filipino Cuisine
11257 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Las Pinches Tortas (El Cajon)

Thanks for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk is still busy at work and Cathy is sharing another food adventure.

For the most part, The Mister and I don't plan any of our food stops unless a gift card is involved.  On this day, we were (once again) driving about aimlessly, took the 2nd Street exit from the 8, continued South until 2nd turned into Jamacha (at Main) and continued for a few more blocks.  A bunch of cars were stuck at the signal light at Washington and we were backed up quite a bit. Looking West, both The Mister and I noticed this signage at the same time.  I pulled into the Laundromat anchored mall.  This is what it looks like from Jamacha; a large parking lot.

It turns out this family owned and run restaurant opened in June.  I can sort of see how we missed it.  I can also say we will be eating here often.  
 We walked in, grabbed a menu (thumbnails at the bottom of this post) and a seat before ordering. The kitchen area has an open window, the self-seating area is quite large. 
You order and pay straight ahead when walking in; I only noticed the signage at the order counter after we had decided what we wanted and had to turn around to discuss changing our initial choices.  Finally, I ordered, paid, got our beverages and looked at the condiment area.  The food is brought out to your table. 
 The Lunch Special of 1/2 torta and soup ($9.95).  This was a smart decision, because apparently the full size torta is huge.  This is a 1/2 size ahogada (drowned) torta. The bread is from Guadalajara.  The meat is (wonderful flavored meaty and crisped) carnitas.  There's a smear of flavorful black beans. The sauce, made with chile de arbol and tomatoes, is spicy and made here.  

All of the salsas are made here.  There are many salsas on the condiment bar and for each food item.   
The soup is a 'proper' tortilla soup.  **No chicken pieces** in it; just a good flavored chicken broth with garlic, onion, tomatoes, chile de arbol (so, it's spicy).  It's thickened with tortillas and topped with fried strips of tortilla, cheese and sour cream.  Hearty. 
 The counter also had a photo of a special of Chile en Nogada ($14.95).  This item is usually prepared around Mexican Independence Day (September 16), (the dish is meant to be the colors of the flag of Mexico, and the red pomegranates need to be in season).  It's a poblano chili, stuffed with picadillo and topped with a walnut based white sauce and pomegranates.  Sweet, savory, a bit salty, crunchy, soft...everything that describes a great melding of flavors and texture in each bite.
 Chile en Nogada is meant to be served at room temperature.  It was the best version I've had so far in my short life.

There are so many sauces, so many different torta breads, a great variety.  Despite the name (I know it's dirty), Las Pinches is sure to be part of our 'regular rotation'. Unexpectedly a great find.

Las Pinches Tortas 558 Jamacha Road El Cajon 92019 (619)593-0576 Open Mon-Fri 10-9, Sat 9-9, Sun 9-8

 

Barbecue Pit (El Cajon) Revisit

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Kirk is busy with 'work' and will return soon enough. Until then, Cathy is writing.

Barbecue Pit is a longstanding (since 1947) restaurant in El Cajon. Posting in 2014 as well as in 2018, combined with Kirk's post of Wrangler Family Barbecue, in 2010 (Wrangler has the same menu, decor, ambiance and flavors as Barbecue Pit; it was once part of the chain) doesn't really show how much this place is part of our 'regular rotation'.  Its location, kitty corner from Beef 'n Bun, on the North East corner of Fletcher Parkway at Garfield, (next to the Baskin Robbins) has plenty of parking in front and in a larger area in the same lot, serving a 99 Cent Only store as well as a few other storefronts. 
 Step inside, walk up, order and watch your meal being prepared.  The Texas style, pit smoked (over oak) meats available are beef, pork, ham, chicken and links.  The sides are slaw, potato salad, baked beans and fries.  The soups are pea soup and navy bean.  The combinations for meals are plenty and delineated on the wall. 
Pay, find a table, grab your beverage, check out the condiment bar and grab some utensils.  
 I ordered the 'soup and sandwich' ($8.99). A large bowl of navy bean soup and a ham sandwich- smoky, thick slices of ham on a toasted bun.  The soup is a particular new craving of mine.  More on that in a moment.
We went on a Saturday night (the Barbecue Pit is closed on Sundays) and there was a Special on the white Boards- the Sloppy Joe beef sandwich plate was $9.99. Slaw and potato salad were the sides.  You can see this was a generous portion of smoked beef.  You can add more BBQ sauce as you wish...tangy and sweet, warm and luxuriously thick, the sauce is a compliment to the beef.
  Here's another visit. The rib and chicken combo plate with sides of baked beans and potato salad and cornbread ($16.50) was The Mister's order. 
Two large, juicy, meaty, well smoked (leaving a bark on the meat) beef ribs and 1/4 chicken (breast and wing).  Not using the sauce, the smokiness really comes through.  Using the sauce halfway through makes the meal a new experience. 
 On this visit, I tried the chicken sandwich and navy bean soup.  The soup really is all beans with carrot, celery and onion; a bowl by itself is a meal.  The chicken sandwich is plentiful and has a more delicate smokiness when tried plain.  

Everything here is good. 

Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619)462-5434 Open Mon-Sat 10:30-9 CLOSED SUNDAY Website 

 There is dessert here, too. 

Tahini Street Food (Clairemont Mesa Boulevard)

I recently had a meeting where the food was catered from Tahini. For some reason, I'd forgotten about the place after they were replacing Dudley's Kearny Mesa location, which is right next to Ramen Ryoma.

I enjoyed the Chicken Schwarma Bowl; while being a bit "tame" in terms of flavor; the garlic sauce wasn't too bad and I enjoyed the pickled vegetables, and the rice was nicely flavored and fluffy.

So, I decided to stop by a couple of weeks later.

I'd gotten there right after opening and the place was already doing some pretty good business.

The set-up is very much in the "fast-casual" vein....you order at the register, the stations on the "line" put things together. One both visits; the young man working the register was ultra polite and made sure to repeat everyone's orders to make sure they got things right.

The menu is very much in the Chipotle mold....or even say....Chi-poke mold; you choose your base, if you'd like it in a pita, bowl, or salad, you can add on snacks, be it versions of fries or hummus, etc......

I was feeling hungry on my first visit and got the Chicken Schwarma Bowl and I really wanted to try the Falafel, so I got a3 pieces of Falafel.

This was good as what I'd had in my meeting. The garlic paste; well actually the menu does say "sauce" and is not as pungently delicious as the versions at Harvest Market or Alforon. But it does the trick here. Loved the pickled vegetables which added a nice zip to the bowl. The chicken was decently moist and tender, though quite mild in flavor....yes; it's kind of food not to offend; but with that nicely flavored rice, it did the job quite.

On the other hand; I really didn't care for the falafel.

While the interior was nice and smooth; the exterior was really hard....not crunchy, hard, and in addition to being more salty than I enjoy, there was a strange bitterness that I detected. Plus, the Tahini tasted weak, runny, and watered down.

The pita though, was nice and warm, it was obviously made fairly fresh as I saw the handy-dandy pita bread oven on the side.

Because I enjoyed the pita; I headed back and tried the Steak Schwarma in a Pita.

And while the pita was lovely as before; the "steak" was very lean and chewy and it was very bland. I really should have gotten a different sauce than the standard Tahini that comes with the "steak"....but at least I know for sure that it's not my favorite version. There was a good amount of meat; fresh veggies; but overall, quite bland.

I also ordered a half order of the Tahini Fries (with no Tahini of course), with Garlic sauce.

This was quite nice; I like the way the garlic sauce complements the crisp fries and even don't mind the pepperoncini's or feta cheese; though I will probably ask for no olives the next time. Still, this was not bad.

Overall a mixed bag; nice folks working, it's fusiony food made for Western palates, not a bad thing necessarily, and that rice bowl is pretty good.

Tahini Street Food
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon - Sat 11am - 9pm
Sunday    11am - 7pm

The Old Neighborhood - Tasty Noodle House (Hacienda Heights) and Yi Mei Deli (Rowland Heights)

Because we flew back home to via LAX, we decided to use some rental car points for a one way rental and hotel points for a stay in our old neighborhood overnight.

And while the food on our flight wasn't anything to write home about; it did the job and we weren't famished when we arrived at LAX. A good thing too, since traffic on the 105 was terrible.

And so, we decided to just grab something simple near to our hotel and decided on the Hacienda Heights location of Tasty Noodle House.

This little shop wasn't around when we lived here; but we just thought having a couple of smaller dishes would suit us well. As a bonus, there was a buy three dishes get one free thing going on; so, in spite of it being something the Missus didn't care for, I got my Drunken Chicken free.

I enjoyed this version; it was much better than what I've had the San Diego location. This had a nice balance between the wineyness and wasn't over salty. The chicken was tender and moist.

The Xun Yu ("cold smoked fish"), a favorite of the Missus, was much too sweet for our taste.

We also ordered the Spicy Stinky Tofu.

The tofu was a bit dry; but we both enjoyed the earthy-funkiness of the fermented tofu and the mild spiciness. This seems like a good combination.

The final item to arrive was the Shen Jian Bao.

This was actually pretty good; while not nearly as good as the Tianjin Baozi at the San Gabriel location of Tasty Noodle House; this was not bad. The bottoms were not overly thick and nicely crisped without being scorched likw what I've had at the San Diego location. Nice porkiness in the filling, which was moist, the tops were yeasty and adequately fluffy. Not bad at all.

I've always said that all Tasty Noodle Houses are different....this kind of proves the point.

Tasty Noodle House
1611A S Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Hours:
Open Daily 11am - 10pm

We got up fairly early the next morning and instead of sticking around for lunch, just decided to head back home to not encounter any traffic. So, we decided to hit up a place that was a fairly regular stop for us when we lived in the area during the late '90's, Yi Mei Deli. Looking through our 4,195 posts, I see that I've kinda mentioned Yi Mei Deli and even once did a post on the frozen XLB from the place.

Considering how much we used to go here back in the day; I was surprised I haven't really done a post.....

With all the changes in Hong Kong Plaza; it's nice to see that Shau Mei and Hong Kong Fishball House, along with Yi Mei Deli are still doing well.

Strangely, my favorite steamed bun from here has always been the Vegetable Steamed Bun. I always loved the almost smokey-bitterness of the greens, which I think went well with the yeasty-fluffy dough.

There was some sticker shot because when we lived here; these steamed buns were 75 cents....it's now $1.95!

Loved the fluffiness of the steamed bun; but the filling, while having that savory bitterness I enjoy, was on the dry side.

Yi Mei Deli
18414 Colima Rd. (In Hong Kong Plaza)
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Still, it was a nice blast from the past...….I've many memories of grabbing one or two of these for a quick weekend breakfast before heading off to the Torrance Farmer's Market.

It brought back some nice memories....

Thanks for stopping by!

Alsace - The Four Wonders of Alsace Part 2. Riquewihr and Kaysersberg

Like my previous post yesterday, there's not much food in this one. But I hope you'll enjoy more of the wonderful sights of Alsace!

After leaving Ribeauvillé, we headed a short way south to the medieval town of Riquewihr.

Yet, another charming and beautiful village. During our drive time, we had a nice time chatting with Christopher. And he quickly picked up the fact that the Missus and I both enjoy food. So the first stop on that beautiful cobblestone street was this place.

Where Christopher and the really friendly young man working here plied us with cheese...….

And when we decided to buy; they made sure to give us another round of tastings to make sure we were getting what we wanted.

And what we wanted was Tomme….lots of Tomme; de Brebis (sheep), de Chevre (goat), and the Cave Aged Tomme. Man, it was good!

We'd end up having the cheese for lunch the following day back in Colmar.

Les Caves d'Affinage de Riquewihr
16 Rue du General de Gaulle
68340 Riquewihr, France

I mentioned earlier that Riquewihr is a medieval village. It was and basically still is a fortified town with ruins of the ramparts dating back to the 13th century still surrounding much of the town.

At the top of the main street is the "Dolder" (Belfry). We were told that the tower was originally built in 1291. The belfry was added in the 19th century and used to warn and inform the residents of approaching threats and groups.

There's actually a pretty little street outside the tower that runs along what is the ramparts of the town.

And here is the "Obertor" ("Tall Gate") which helped to protect the city.

You can see that there was once a drawbridge to keep intruders out. The moat area is now a wonderful grassy parklike area.

That statue of the woman riding on a horse; was, if I recall, "La Dame du Parc".

The area along the ramparts is quite photogenic and makes for a nice stroll.

We were really enjoying our time in Alsace.....

We were given some time to shop and perhaps grab some lunch in Riquewihr.

So we headed back down the main street; just taking our time...….

We weren't very hungry; so just stopped by a patisserie on Rue du Général de Gaulle, named Patisserie Chez Chloe and got our caffeine fix, a quiche (which was terrible), and some sweets for the Missus.

Patisserie Chez Chloe
24 Rue du Général de Gaulle
68340 Riquewihr, France

Well, at least the coffee perked me up! We then took to wandering some of the side streets and spent some time in the Christmas shop pictured near the top of this post; Féerie de Noël Käthe Wohlfahrt . Man, the buildings are so colorful here!

We even found a War Memorial down one of the side streets.

Riquewihr; like Ribeauvillé is on the Alsace wine trail. And just walking a block or two down a street; you'll come to a sight like this.

We then headed back up to the Obertor and met Christopher who took us outside the city for a view of the vineyards.

Speaking of wine; our next stop was a fun visit to Bott Frères Winery. We had such a great time that I pretty much forgot to take photos during the tour.

We ended up buying a case of wine and had it shipped back to San Diego. The Riesling Gran Cru was a favorite of the Missus's and also Frankie's Aunt Alle's Mom loved it as well!

While we were driving to our next stop Christopher asked us if we had heard of Kaysersberg. I said yes, and was asked what I knew about the city. I told him Nobel Prize winner Albert Schweitzer was from Kaysersberg. I'd taken quite a few Philosophy courses in college, you could say it was one of my "majors", though I really don't remember much about what I learned all these years later; I recall reading The Decay and the Restoration of Civilization and being quite affected by it. Christopher smiled and nodded; he then asked us if we had heard of Anthony Bourdain.....and then it came to me....I'd totally forgotten that he had committed suicide in Kaysersberg! You can read about the rest of the conversation at the end of this post.

We parked outside the village and strolled in.

The River Weiss runs through town, just adding to its beauty. No wonder Kaysersberg, like Eguisheim, won the Préféré des Français as favorite French Village this time 2017.

Christopher pointed out the details; like the platforms where women used to do the laundry in the river and details on the houses.....

Of course, I was just distracted by the ducks.....

The village is very charming and with Christmas around the corner at the time of our visit; there was a festive air to things.....

Even the Fontaine Constantin was ready for the holidays!

Christopher took us into the Eglise De l'Invention De La Sainte-Croix, Church of the Holy Cross.

The dramatic and impressive altarpiece dates back to the 16th century.

After our visit to the church we checked out some of the shops in the town.

First stopping at the workshop of a shop that made hand blown glass. And then next to a an amazing shop full of Cuckoo Clocks. The really sweet young lady proceeded to set all the clocks to go off while we stood and watched....talk about over stimulation! It was a wall of chaos! Hilarious.....

As we wandered the side streets it seemed that Kaysersberg was much more populous than the published number of less than 5,000!

Like the other villages; take a short stroll one or two blocks down a side street and you're out in the vineyards. In this case with a castle as a backdrop!

As we strolled thru town; Christopher asked us if we wanted to see the hotel where AB died; we instantly said "no", he seemed relieved....apparently many of his customers from the US make visiting the Chambard Hotel their primary goal when visiting Kaysersberg. I understand that Bourdain changed the way many look at travel, food, and culture......but.....

I can just imagine how this makes the residents of this beautiful village feel....most of whom had never heard of the man before his visit.

There's a magical and like I said before, almost fairy-tale like feel to visiting these villages in Alsace. You are transported light years away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. We really enjoyed having Christopher as our guide, he gave us some cookies as a gift, and as we were headed back across the River Weiss, we were discussing various dishes we'd tried or were looking to try in Alsace. Upon me mentioning Fleischschnacka, he smiled and said, "I know just the place for you...." And proceeded to call a restaurant and make reservations for us for dinner! I think that says it all......

Dreamy, fairytale like villages and warm, friendly, hospitable people. That's Alsace.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Alsace - The Four Wonders of Alsace Tour Part 1. Eguisheim and Ribeauvillé

Not much food in this, and my next post. But if you love fairy tale like streets and lovely half-timbered houses, you might enjoy this post.

I got up early on our first full day in Alsace. We'd really come to enjoy Alsace the previous winter when we visited Strasbourg. Though it was a week before the Christmas Markets opened in Colmar, we had enjoyed the previous evening. On this day we had arranged for a small group tour from Alsace Original Experiences called the Four Wonders of Alsace, which visited four different villages in Alsace.

But first, even though we were still satisfied from our rather large dinner the night before, we needed some sustenance. While the Missus woke up; I headed down Rue Turenne.

Of course, I had to walk over to the bridge and take a look at our wonderful balcony.

I had seen an Artisan Boulangerie on our street the night before, so I walked on over to Maison Alexandre.

And picked up two croissants for breakfast.

La Maison Alexandre
34 Rue Turenne
68000 Colmar, France

I got back to the apartment and the Missus popped a couple of pods in the Nespresso Machine and we had espresso and our croissants.

Unfortunately, these weren't very good; it lacked a nice crisp flakiness and butteriness. Oh well......

A short while later, we headed downstairs to be picked up for our small group tour. A few minutes later, our driver/guide arrived. We got really lucky as there were no other people on the tour for this day. So, we basically had our own private tour. And our guide, Christopher, was amazing!

The Missus and I felt like we had stepped into a Fairy Tale as we walked the cobblestone street of our first stop; Eguisheim.

The colorful half-timbered houses, the tiny streets, the charming décor just transported us. And, in fact, two of the villages wed visit on this tour, Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr was the inspiration for Belle's hometown in Beauty and the Beast! And while both of those villages were charming and lovely, it's Eguisheim that still stands out in our mind. In fact, in 2013, Eguisheim won the Préféré des Français and declared the "Favorite Village in France". And we could see why.

As we headed up the beautiful Rue du Remparts, Christopher pointed out a ton of little details to us. That cute skinny house in the middle of the photo above, now the home of a business, Le Pigeonnier, dates back to the 15th century.

Even in winter; the street bursts with color and adorable ornamentation.

Christopher went through small details on the structures and I took photos, though I should have taken notes so I'd have remembered what these small details told about the families, vocations, and social standing of the folks who once lived here.

Storks are symbols of fertility and good luck in Alsace. They are treasured and build their nests on top of roofs, steeples, and other high areas.

They were once threatened with extinction in Alsace, but a conservation program in the region has allowed for a rebound in mating pairs. And though they usually migrate South for the winter; Christopher pointed out a couple of stray "couples"(most White Storks are monogamous and share duties for raising their young) still hanging around in late November.

Christopher told us we were extremely lucky to see storks this time of the year and it must be a good omen.

As we made a circle back to the main road, we passed the rather hulking looking Church of Saint Peter and Paul.

Christopher took us in; there was something he wanted us to see.

Off on the "porch" to the side is a wooden Vierge Ourvante, an "Opening Virgin". Which dates back to the 13th or 14th Century.

This is a very rare artifact and is quite striking.

The center of this charming village is the Place du Château Saint-Léon, the former site of a castle. This area had been settled by first the Gauls, then the Romans.

Notice the statue and the church? Well, a former Pope and Saint; Leo IX was born in Eguisheim in, get this 1002! That chapel is named Chapelle Saint-Léon IX and was built and dedicated to Saint Leo in 1894.

It's a quaint, tiny chapel, which houses relics of the former Pope and Saint.

The frescoes in the chapel represent the seven scenes from the life of Saint Leo.

And though it was rather dark when we entered......

A coin in the machine changes that in an instant!

Our next stop on the tour was the charming, but bustling town of Ribeauvillé.

The old town is charming and as you'll quickly notice has quite a few "music" oriented statues, symbols, and icons.

Originally known as Rappoltsweiler, then becoming Rathaldovilare, in the 8th century, the village was passed on to the noble family of Rappoltstein. The Lord of Rappoltstein was the protector of the wandering minstrels of the land, who paid him a tax for protection. In fact, the minstrels had their own chapel in the village and even their own patron Saint! They used to celebrate at the chapel on September 8th and something similar still occurs on the first Sunday in September in Ribeauvillé; a festival called Pfifferdaj ("Fiddler's Festival"), which claims to be the oldest festival in Alsace.

Christopher lead along the main street making stops along the way to tell us stories about Ribeauvillé.

The main square is named Place de Mairie and a large gate and tower; named the Butcher's Tower (Tour des Bouchers), named after the slaughterhouse and butcher stalls that were located at its base.

The gate separates what was once the upper and lower towns of Ribeauvillé.

Speaking of butchers......this wonderful half timbered house......

Sits atop a very popular Boucherie named Siedel Hubert.

We ended up spending some time in the shop and purchasing some foie gras on the way back down.

Siedel Hubert
78 Grand'Rue
68150 Ribeauvillé, France

A bit further up the street was a beautiful square Place de la Sinne and the wonderful half-timbered houses.

Minstrels once used to gather around this fountain and in the inns that lined the square.

Christopher also pointed out various signs along the way......

And then asked us if we'd like to do some exploring and shopping on our own. So, after setting up our meeting place (the piper statue), we wondered around, did a bit of shopping.

And spent a good amount of time at Siedel Hubert, before meeting Christopher at the location designated.

We were charmed and taken in by these villages in Alsace.

And there were still several more stops to go! Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Pho Tommy Opens in Linda Vista

**** Pho Tommy has closed

A few weeks ago, right before heading out on our Road Trip to Laguna Beach; I was picking up take-out from Thai Papaya, I noticed that Farm Market and Sandwiches was gone and replaced with something called "Pho Tommy".

Not quite sure what to make of this rather large space....after all it was a market and all, I was curious and decided to visit soon after.

The place seems to be put together....or at least renovated in a rather strange and haphazard way. It seems that they just pulled out all the shelving and replaced things with tables.

And there are still some grocery items for sale.

A "stage" has been put in near the entrance that faces Linda Vista Road. You gotta watch your step......the UPS guy walking in tripped and almost fell.

Another strange thing was that, other than the UPS guy, and the friends of the really friendly guy running the place named "Kim", I was the only customer on all three visits. Not sure what's going on here. Well, on with the show.....

Since the place was named "Pho Tommy"; it was only natural that I ordered the Pho Dac Biet.

First off, as you can tell, the basil and sprouts were past their "due date" and browning. The broth was clear with a decent amount of richness/texture, but like many places in San Diego these days, it had a salty-sweetness that isn't to my taste. I did enjoy the good amount of cilantro and scallions which helped a bit, along with a good amount of lime to try and balance things out.

As for the proteins; well the rare steak was too well done by the time the bowl hit the table and being the usual top round it was tough and dry. The fatty flank was on the bland side....no tripe in this bowl, though the tendon was fairly buttery and not bad. Not a great bowl overall. There's much better less than a block away.

When I went to pay; Kim just charged me eight bucks. Not wanting to short the place, I showed him the $9.50 on the menu, but was told, "I rang it up already, it's okay, eight dollars for you....."

So, I decided to go back the next morning since I needed to get some stuff from Thuan Phat, I was kinda hungry so I decided to drop by.

This time I ordered the Broken Rice with Bi, Cha (steamed egg), Pork Chop, and Egg ($8.99).

First off, the rice was nice and fragrant and the nuoc mam cham wasn't watered down, nor too sweet.

The Bi, shredded pork and pork skin was really dry and tasteless though. The cha was fine, though a bit drier than I prefer.

The pork chop was nicely charred, though it needed more seasoning as it was also bland.

But that egg was wonderful. Perfectly sunny side up, runny, with crisp edges, and nicely seasoned.

The broth provided, was basically the pho broth....it was less "sweet", but still too salty for me to fully enjoy.

Still, this was an improvement over the pho, so this past weekend, I decided to drop by early in the morning (apparently they open around 730), which is great for me.

I had seen something on the menu that I hadn't had for quite a while.

A dish named after the capital of Tiền Giang Province, My Tho; Hu Tieu My Tho.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't know what to expect. But the plate of sparkling fresh Tong Ho (chrysanthemum leaves, we call it Shingiku in Japanese) and sprouts started things off on the right foot. The Tong Ho was mild in flavor, without that resiny-overly green-grassy flavor. These were mildly sweet and bitter, obviously very fresh.

What really impressed me about this bowl was the liver....I'm usually not a fan of liver in Vietnamese noodle dishes because often times they are old and taste plain gross; but this was fairly tender and had just the right amount of earthy-offal flavor. In fact, in spite of the shrimp being cooked perfectly, the liver was the best meat item in the dish. The other pork was pretty bland.

The Hu Tieu was a bit overcooked for my taste. Though the clear broth wasn't quite as salty this time around. In fact, combined with that rather rich, almost greasy, bright red pork broth, it created a balance in a way. This was also quite a bit more than I'd usually put away for breakfast.

The third time was a charm it seems.

I enjoyed the guy working here; but unless evenings and lunches are super busy....somehow, I don't think it is, I don't know how long a place like this can last. I hope they hang in there. There's something definitely "old school" about Pho Tommy, without the brusque service, that I enjoyed.

Pho Tommy
6959 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA