mmm-yoso!!!

Road Trip - Cailloux Cheese Shop (Solvang)

After our rather "busy" morning and afternoon, we settled back into the Viking Inn for a nice afternoon nap. When dinner time arose, we didn't want to go very far. There was a place we'd seen the previous day, that was actually open on a Tuesday (many businesses are closed on Monday and Tuesday in Solvang). Cailloux Cheese Shop is located in a courtyard that also houses McClain Cellars, Dascomb Cellars, and Cordon Tasting Rooms. It is a cheese shop - restaurant, you purchase cheese - charcuterie - wine to go, or have access to a menu of French style dishes along with accoutrements for a cheese plate along with beer and wine by the bottle or glass.

We were having an early (430) dinner, the place closes at 6pm, and this seemed perfect. So, I went in and placed our order, paid, and we had a seat in the patio. The folks working here are so very friendly and kind. We were immediately asked if we needed the heaters turned on. Which we didn't.

The Missus went with a Chardonnay and I had a Savignon Blanc.

The Missus wanted to try the Cassoulet, which seemed like a bargain at $18, so we started with that.

At this price, I didn't expect anything like what I make at home, but this was pretty good. The Guanciale added a nice rich, porkiness to the dish, which wasn't overly salty.

There was a decent amount of duck in the dish; kind of chewy, but flavorful. The beans unfortunately, were pinto, I didn't expect Tarbais or even Flageolet beans at this price point, but thought even Cannelli would have been better. I did mention this to the kind older woman who helped bring out our dishes; I believe she is the owner, who said pinto beans are the only thing they can afford to keep the price down. I totally understand!

Our Cheese and Charcuterie plate was huge!

 I liked the fact that they "flagged" the cheeses for us. I especially enjoyed the Mitica KM39, firm and flavorful, it went well with the bread. I'm a fan of blue cheeses so I enjoyed the Stilton. I wish they sold Port by the glass, which would have been perfect with this; but unfortunately they don't. The Missus enjoyed the Spanish Chorizo and I the prosciutto and pate. The Pico went well with the candied walnuts as well.

This was a generous and well put together plate. The staff are wonderful. I was curious about the name of the place, "Cailloux" translates to "Pebbles" in English, but we weren't near a beach or river bed. I asked and was told that the owner named the shop after her late pooch, named "Pebbles"! You gotta love it! I know JJ did!

We were finishing right before the 6pm closing, but were told "please take your time - we won't be leaving until after 730". Very nice! It was a perfect early dinner for us and we'll make sure to return!

Cailloux Cheese Shop
1623 Mission Dr. Suite L
Solvang, CA 93463

We strolled back to the motel; the Missus relaxed in the little grass area reading. I took JJ for a nice stroll in the neighborhood. After JJ had his dinner, I took JJ to get a nightcap. During our last stay in Solvang, we discovered Vaquero Bar, attached to the Coast Range Steakhouse. The place seemed to have quite a few locals. I decided to take JJ and head on over.

The place was empty, except for one other customer, who seemed to be a regular.

I had a fairly "stiff" Old Fashioned and a nice chat with the Bartender, who also works with the county doing road repairs. He confirmed my "observations" on the morning and evening traffic patterns. He told me that this was indeed "slow" season. Things start picking up at the end of March, going all the way thru summer/early fall. 

Vaquero Bar (In Coast Range Restaurant)
1635 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

This was a perfect end to an enjoyable stay. 

Though we had yet another road trip coming up in a few weeks!

Stay tuned!

Cuisinery Food Market (Eurofood Depot) Revisited

Since Eurofood Depot moved and became the Cuisinery I've been stopping by every 2-3 weeks. Of course, getting the escargot is a must. It's now a staple of the household. I'm usually wary when places are taken over, but in the case of Eurofood Depot, it seems to have really improved the variety of items. There are, of course stuffs that I won't get, like tamales, bacalao croquettes, various seafood, prepared meals, and non-French items. But, we have come up with some items we've enjoyed.

What we've also noticed is that prices on some items have gone down by a buck as well.

And it seem that the Cuisinery is always coming up with some kind of marketing thing. Recently, they started opening on Sundays, and with that, it seems that they now have coffee, tea, and donuts....

Not sure about this....seems very 7-11.......

I do like that the charcuterie and cheese selection has been expanded. Especially since they now carry Epoisses, which Lazy Acres and WF also carry; but they sell it in half sizes.

Yes, it's that stinky, washed rind, cheese that we enjoy. In that previous post I shared the urban legend that Epoisses is banned on public transport in Paris (it's not).

The Missus also enjoys the Brie-style sheep based Perail Papillon.

These are not always in stock; so if you specifically want it, I've been advised to call ahead.

All of this is good, but for us, it's a couple of the frozen food items that we enjoy. Yes, there's the escargot, but after trying a couple of items....yes, there were some not so great choices, there are two that we keep in the freezer for those "lazy nights".

The Bacon Wrapped Wagyu was a surprise.

I do two phases in the air fryer, starting with a air roast and ending with an air fry to crisp up the bacon. I was surprised that the bacon crisps up nicely. It's a savory-salty-beefy treat.

Really nice with a crisp beer or glass of wine.

The other being the Caramelized Onion, Feta, and Bacon Bites. I'll usually make half a box. I'll do the air fryer thing, starting at the prescribed temp, then raising it up by 20 degrees at the end to crisp things up.

It turns out light, crisp, sweet-savory-salty.......

This was a nice surprise. Trader Joe's has a version of this that was terrible, so I didn't have high hopes, but this one is another keeper.

I enjoy shopping at Cuisinery Food Market. This is what I'd hoped Picard was going to be (it was not). There always seems to be something new; whether I'm motivated to try it out is another story, but it's always interesting. Nice folks working as well.

Cuisinery Food Market
7340 Miramar Rd. Suite 105
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon - Fri  10am - 6pm
Saturday   10am - 5pm
Sunday      9am - 2pm

Paris - Pierre Sang in Oberkampf and More Wandering Around the Marais

I'm quite "old school"...well perhaps, I'm just old? Anyway, when it comes to finding places to try on trips I check out blogs and various sites, and yes, even discussion forums....when was the last time you heard that term? As for Paris; well, the now defunct Chowhound had a lively Paris board, after CH shut down, many of the folks moved over to Hungry Onion. There can be quite a bit of "noise", but also some useful info; which is how we found that Aux Crus de Bourgogne a place we passed so many times and thought was a tourist stop, was worth a visit! And which is how I came across all the recommendations for Pierre Sang in Oberkampf. Now there are those who are going to take pause at the thought of dining on French-Korean. But, look at all the French-Japanese places we've dined at in Paris!

Pierre Sang Boyer came to prominence after appearing on France's version of Top Chef and now has a kingdom of several restaurants in Paris. The most highly recommended, at least on H.O. is the tasting menu only location on Rue Oberkampf in the 11th. So, being that we were in Paris for an extended time, I made dinner reservations.

We walked on over to the restaurant, which has a few tables and a bar area. Checked in and were seated. The staff were very friendly, unusually so for Paris, and then we found out the "other part" of the process here for the 5 course menu. You were served and had to guess what you were eating! Which I thought was fun. 

My apologies for the poor photos; the lighting in the place was so dark.

Anyway course 1. This was an easy one.

Obviously Salmon Tartare, flavored with sesame oil. No biggie, just a simple dish. I guessed that there was daikon in this; but it was watermelon radish.

Next up.

This had some perfectly cooked lentils and I also correctly guessed kimchi and chorizo! The Server was kinda impressed. At least someone was impressed. This dish seemed so mild in flavor in spite of the kimchi, which there was too little of and soy sauce which we actually couldn't taste.

Dish 3

Well I got the Beef Tataki part. The beef was a bit tough for our taste. I also guessed cho-jang, but was told gochujang. I'm thinking the tones of vinegar and sweetness tilted things to the chogochujang side of things. The pickled onions were quite good, crisp and bracing; there was a citrusy component to the dish as well.

Our favorite item of the night. This is an easy one.

The duck was perfectly cooked, the skin crisp, the flesh fairly tender. The butternut squash puree added that little sweet-fruitiness complimenting the duck. The bok choy was still nice and crisp. The gochujang was too overpowering for the duck. In theory, it should work a la hoisin sauce; but the spice was a bit overpowering in this case.

The Missus enjoyed the dessert.

Overall, a fairly unique and fun meal, but with more misses than hits. We liked the staff, but really don't think we'll return.

Pierre Sang in Oberkampf
55 Rue Oberkampf
75011 Paris, France

The next morning we got up and did what was now our routine; coffee and croissants at the apartment. Then headed on out to do that Flanuer thing, exploring the area around Boulevard Beaumarchais. It's such fun just wandering and window shopping.....

We got to check out the trendy Merci at 111 Bd Beaumarchais.

Loaded with all those things you don't need.....

And there was a moment, just like what happened a few days earlier, where we were reminded.......

Of that "special one".....

We stopped by Maison Plisson and took a look around.

And got some terrine for lunch. The cheese looked tempting, but I had another destination in mind.

Maison Plisson
93 Bd Beaumarchais
75003 Paris, France

Near Place des Vosges we came across this chocolate shop with some, well, unique designs.

Yes, those "shoes" are made of chocolate!

The name of the place is:

Joséphine Vannier - Chocolaterie d'Art
4 Rue du Pas de la Mule
75003 Paris, France

At Place des Vosges, we took a quick look at the courtyard of Le Pavillon de la Reine.

It was fun ducking in and out of places and shop with no objective in mind. We loved little scenes like this one.

We finally made our way to Rue Saint-Antoine, which becomes Rue de Rivoli and made two quick stops; one at Fromagerie Laurent Dubois.

Cheese heaven.

Fromagerie Laurent Dubois
97-99 Rue Saint-Antoine
75004 Paris, France

Heading back to the apartment, we picked up a baguette at Boulangerie Pezeril, which I posted on before, and had terrine, fromage de truffe, and baguette for lunch.

Before nap time kicked in>

I was really enjoying "Paris at our leisure" and hope you enjoyed this post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris (2022) - Baguette Class at La Cuisine Paris, La Ferme Saint-Aubin, and a Revisit to Fou de Pâtisserie

When planning out our time in Paris, I thought it would be fun to do a cooking class. We'd had such a fun time doing our cheese tasting with Le Cheese Geek during a previous visit. Now I think I'm a decent cook, but baking, well, it's really not my thing. And yet, baguettes and croissants have become such a big part of our eating lives that I thought perhaps taking a cooking class would be fun. After doing a bit of research, I settled on La Cuisine Paris and thought that the Missus and I would have fun learning to make baguettes. However, when I was in the process of booking our class the Missus decided that I should go ahead and take the class myself and She would go shopping and enjoy a cafe.

So I bade the Missus farewell at the rather discreet doorway right off the Seine on Quai de l'Hotel de Ville.

Our instructor was Segolene, she was in one word, amazing! She helped us organize things, explained each step, answered all questions, and had a great sense of humor.

And because she had worked as a pastry chef in LA, she could explain the differences between French style baguettes and what we have in America. It was ash content and protein (i.e. gluten content). Which is why many people who are gluten intolerant can actually eat bread in France!

We went thru the basic "petrissage", the kneading and working of the dough by hand and "falconnage" which is forming and molding the bread.

Along with the scarification...creating the "scars" on the bread. I'm not going to go into much more detail, other than the one trick I learned.....basically when making your baguette, and this holds true for reheating in the oven, place a pan or lipped tray in the bottom of your oven. When you reach the desired temp place the bread in a rack in the oven and pour water into the tray in the bottom of the oven to create steam. This is what I currently use when reheating my baguette and it works perfectly.

As for how my baguette turned out. Well, this isn't it, it was just a demo of how to make a baguette en épi.

These are my baguettes.

And, I even made a fougasses, the French style focaccia. Segolene said mine looked "très bon". Segolene brought ingredients from her mom's garden to use in making our fougasses, which I used along with cheese, leek, and garlic.

It was a great time and Segolene was the best! This is highly recommended, it was fun and even though I'm not quite sure I'll make baguettes at home, I sure learned a lot.

And we got to take the stuff we made with us.

La Cuisine Paris
80 Quai de l'Hôtel de ville
75004 Paris, France

The Missus wants me to take the croissant class next!

The Missus seeing that I had two baguette and the fougasse said that we wouldn't need to go out for dinner this evening. Instead we headed right over the Seine to Île Saint-Louis, that island in the Seine east of Île de la Cité to La Ferme Saint-Aubin where we bought some fromage for dinner.

La Ferme Saint-Aubin
76 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île
75004 Paris, France

On the way back to the apartment, we made a detour at Nicholas, then a revisit to Fou de Pâtisserie, that shop which sells various curated pastries from some of Paris's most well known pastry chefs.

Where in spite of the challenges presented to Her, the Missus managed to make a decision on one!

Fou de Pâtisserie
45 Rue Montorgueil
75002 Paris, France

When we got back to the apartment, we relaxed, then got ready for our dinner.

The Missus enjoyed the fougasse, great acidity and sweetness from the tomatoes, but said my baguettes were too doughy and the crust too thick and hard. Still, not bad for a rookie, eh?

And before all of this we had our own little apero moment.

Where we sat at the window and watch the sun set in the horizon as Paris slowly turned into the city of lights......

Edinburgh (2022) - Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh Farmer's Market, Statue of Bum, The Golden Mile, and Cheese From I.J. Mellis

**** Not much food in this one. Though if you like to see a San Diego connection and castles and such, this post might be for you. I'll try to keep things as brief as possible

Our two whole days in Edinburgh would be fairly full. I know that a visit to Edinburgh Castle is pretty much a must and since we'd be in Edinburgh over a weekend, I made sure to get tickets for the castle online with an entry time of right when they opened at 930.

One good thing about our AirBnb on Blackfriars street was its location right off the Royal Mile. So the walk was pretty easy.

  We walked past places that would become all too familiar during our short stay in Edinburgh, like the St Giles Cathedral, which we'd visit the following day and the distinctive former Tolbooth Church, which is now a building known as the "Hub".

We were going to be early for our reservations, so we hovered off Castle Hill onto Johnson Terrace, before heading up the steps to the entrance to the castle.

I'm glad I booked tickets online as we got to go right on in and didn't have to wait in line. I also received a guide to Edinburgh Castle for free. As there were really only a couple of places in the castle complex that I wanted to see, we kind of just made sure to see those, like the crown jewels (where photos aren't allowed), we just went to those places and stopped whenever something caught our attention.

Because of where folks gathered, our first stop was below the Great Hall; the Prisons of War.

The vaults below the Great Hall and Queen Anne Building were first used as a prison during the Seven Years' War and by the end of the war held over 500 prisoners here. The vaults became a prison again during the American Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars. 

The Missus did think that they ate pretty well based on this display.

And of course, there are the stories; like the one I read about when a prisoner tried to escape by hiding in a dung cart. Unfortunately, the cart was emptied by being tipped over the walls and the prisoner supposedly died. Which, according to this post may or may not be true, the post also notes that the ghost of this prisoner still haunts the castle where you smell, well, you know what, while the ghost tries to push you over the walls of the castle.

We visited the Great Hall....

Took in the view from the Argyle Battery.

And when we got to Mons Meg, well, I totally forgot to take a photo because it had a view of one of the places I had wanted to see, the Edinburgh Castle Dog Cemetery.

Which was established in 1837 as the burial place for regimental mascots and soldier's pet pooches.

We took "aim" from Dury's Battery.

And explored the National War Museum.

Where along with the memorabilia and paintings of soldiers like Lieutenant James Irving above, we saw this.

That's Bob the dog who was the Regimental Pet of the Scots Fusilier Guards, 1st Battalion, from 1853 - 1860. According to this site:

"The regiment adopted Bob when it was based at Windsor in 1853. A year later he accompanied it to the Crimean War where he distinguished himself by chasing cannonballs at the Battle of Inkerman. In recognition of his courage, he was awarded the special silver medal attached to his collar."

We also visited the Royal Palace. Edinburgh Castle was the principle royal residence from the 11th to the 17th century, so many familiar names resided here.

Upon glancing upon the Scottish and British Royal Coat of Arms, I noticed something.

The Unicorn, the national animal of Scotland is wrapped in chains. I was wondering why and came across this.

We'd been exploring for a couple of hours at this point and things were getting crowded.

We headed out of the castle and down Johnstone Terrace.

But instead of heading East and back to the Royal Mile, we headed west. It was Saturday, which is when Edinburgh's Farmer's Market took place, so we walked on over to King's Stables Road to check out the Farmer's Market.

    It wasn't a very large farmer's market, at least on this day. But the Missus did find some soap She loved. And folks were really friendly and nice.

Edinburgh Farmers' Market
NCP Castle Terrace Car Park
Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, Scotland
Saturday 9am - 2pm

I had another ulterior motive for heading in this direction. I was looking for a specific statue with a San Diego connection. 

Near the end of King's Stables Road is a church - the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert.

And nope, this has nothing to do with the church's cemetery.

But right along one of the walls is a familiar statue. Do you recognize it?

Yes, it's Bum the Dog! I had done a post on the statue of Bum and his story back in June and mentioned an Edinburgh link.

This explains it. Edinburgh and San Diego are sister cities!

I considered this "mission accomplished" for the day. We decided to return to our accommodations.

Instead of returning by heading around Edinburgh Castle via Princes Street Gardens, we decided to make a U-turn and head back via Castle Terrace and Victoria Street, then head back via the Royal Mile.

We ran into a craft fair on the way back.

And did some shopping and browsing on the way back. We stopped in at a cheese shop I had on my list; I.J. Mellis and I ended up getting a sampler pack for our lunch back at the apartment.

Once back on the Royal Mile, I went looking for some rather obscure things. Like this one.

Apparently, this is the sight of the last public execution in Edinburgh. It is also said that Deacon Brodie, was hung somewhere near here. And to pile on with the irony, remember in this post I mentioned that Deacon Brodie designed the gallows that would be used to hang him. Kitty-corner from here sits Deacon Brodie's Pub!

Right before St. Giles Cathedral is this mosaic heart.

This is the Heart of Midlothian, which has quite a backstory. Everything I read said that folks spit on this a lot.....so perhaps it's not the best place to stand on and take your selfie????

Speaking of St. Giles Cathedral.

Well, we'd be visiting the following day, but there was something I wanted to see....in the parking lot.

John Knox founded the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and was a leader of the Scottish Reformation. John Knox was buried in St. Giles cemetery. Well, you may say that St. Giles has no cemetery. Because this is prime real estate, those in St. Giles cemetery were (supposedly) moved in the 17th century. But John Knox was (supposedly) not moved. So, if you'd like to find John Knox's grave it's in parking stall 23....

Yes, for real. On this day there were no cars parked in that stall, so I managed to get a photo. What's the saying? "Reality is stranger than fiction."

As we were walking along the Royal Mile I saw a couple of these structures.

These are Wellheads. This was the source of water for folks in the Old Town until the mid-1800's! Yikes!

We got back to the apartment. The owners were amazing as they had stocked the fully functional kitchen with coffee, cereal, bread, and such. 

Because we had our "blowout" dinner in Edinburgh scheduled for this evening, having some bread and the cheese we picked up the I.J. Mellis made sense. I'd actually wanted to get stuff from the actual cheese monger, but they were super busy so I just went with a prepackaged sampler which was fine.

The blue cheese was especially good. I'll make sure to check them out again if I'm ever back in Edinbugh.

I.J. Mellis Cheesemonger
30A Victoria St.
Grassmarket, Edinburgh, Scotland

Next up, dinner at Martin Wishart. And yes, they'll be much more food in that post!

Thanks for stopping by!

COMC: Jerusalem (Before Covid) - A Wine and Cheese Tour with Israel Wine Journeys and Shabbat Dinner at Mamilla Rooftop Restaurant

**** I'm trying to get these pre-Covid trip posts done; so I'm not going too deep on this one. So consider this a C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post.

For our first day in Jerusalem, I booked a wine tour with Israel Wine Journeys, mainly for the Missus. And just let me say that Yakov was a joy to work with and tailored the two tastings to the Missus.

While for me; Yakov decided to take us to a Dairy and Cheesemaker for a light lunch - a goat farm; Iza Piziza Dairy.

Yakov was amazing.....we do recommend Israel Wine Journeys; they did a custom tour for us.

This was a Friday; so Shabbat started at sunset. There are specific rules to food preparation on Shabbat; no cooking or baking or using any heat source for preparation of food is allowed. Many restaurants are closed on Shabbat, but I really wanted to have a Kosher Shabbat meal. After doing a bit of research I found that the Mamilla Hotel's Rooftop Restaurant had a cold Shabbat menu. So we made our way down the eerily quiet streets of Jerusalem and got to the Mamilla Hotel and the rooftop restaurant.

Which was really quiet.....

The view was wonderful though.....

And we had a light dinner of cold dishes. The vegetables we had during our time in Jerusalem were excellent and this was our first real exposure to it; the tomatoes were especially wonderful.

The two young "kids" serving us were a bit green, but very sweet......

This was a nice, light and refreshing meal.

Rooftop (In the Mamilla Hotel)
Shlomo ha-Melekh Street 11
Jerusalem, Israel

After dinner we headed back to the apartment along the quiet, almost silent streets of Jerusalem.

We had a busy day planned; so it was time to get some sleep......

Sunday "Stuffs" - Lalo's Closes, JJ Chicken Coming to Towne Center, Taco Stand on Convoy, Nijiya's Hokkaido Festival, and Other "Stuffs"

Here's some odds and ends for a nice Sunday.

Lalo's Tacos Al Pastor Closes:

 I noticed that Lalo's had closed when I recently had to drop by Penzy's. I have to say I was a bit surprised since they've been in this spot since we moved to San Diego over 20 years ago. I was never a big fan; but folks I worked with when my office was in Hillcrest enjoyed Lalo's.

I guess maybe the pandemic did them in.

1266 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

JJ Chicken Coming to To Renaissance Towne Centre:

Well, at least that's what the sign says.

 Since I'm back in the office I dropped by one of my usual stops in this strip mall to see how they were doing (they were quite busy). And noticed the sign in the photo to the right in the window of what I think used to be Edo Sushi?

Doing some quick searches, I wasn't able to find much. Perhaps the next time I stop by they'll be more info.....

8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122

Work on the Taco Stand on Convoy:

Driving down Convoy, headed to Nijiya this past morning, I noticed work on the Taco Stand was going on (read more about it on Eater). So, I took a quick drive into the parking lot from hell....which thankfully was quite empty at 850 on a Saturday morning.

According to the post on Eater, they were "Slated to open in early 2021"........but of course with the pandemic, difficulty in finding staff, etc, etc, etc....

4646 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

The Hokkaido Fair at Nijiya - Until 09/22:

I dropped by Nijiya last Friday on my way home from work and was amazed at how busy they were! I waited over 20 minutes in line to get to the cashier, who happened to be a young lady that also works at Bay Park Coffee. I mentioned how busy they were and she told me it was because of the Hokkaido Fair......Hokkaido Fair? How the heck did I miss that memo?

Anyway, I went home and mentioned this to the Missus and guess what? Well, we headed back down to Nijiya later that evening. Luckily; even though the parking lot was packed, Nijiya wasn't overly busy. Even though there seemed to be less items then I recalled from previous "fairs" we had a blast. And things were selling fast! 

I think that perhaps folks are missing the travel, the variety, the fun and comfort these days. I know I felt a wonderful nostalgia seeing labels and items I recalled from our trip to Hokkaido. And the Missus just enjoyed Her puddings and cheesecake....oh, and those chocolate covered strawberries so much; guess who had to head back the next morning? Which I how I noticed the construction on the Taco Stand.

Anyway, here's some of what we got.

For some strange reason; I have an affinity to Hokkaido cheese.....

Anyway, things seem to be selling fast, so head on down if anything pictured above interests you.

3860 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

And speaking of cheese - well, since I won't be riding the metro in Paris anytime soon:

Talking about the feeling of happiness and nostalgia. I had a surge of joy when I saw this at Bristol Farms.

At that point, the Missus and I decided to do charcuterie and cheese for dinner. 

And since, due to the pandemic, I don't think we'll be travelling to France this year, where Epoisses is supposedly banned on public transport, this would have to do. We're really missing international travel and I guess anytime we're able to travel with our tastebuds....well, for now that will have to do. 

Take care everyone; be safe, have compassion and empathy during these times!

Paris - Snack Shopping at Le Comptoir de Mathilde, À la Mère de Famille, and Jacques Genin. Cheese Tasting at Le Cheese Geek.

After our lunch at Maison de la Truffe the Missus had planned on picking up some "treats" for Her friends and coworkers. Of course, She had already purchased a few items from La Grande Epicerie, but wanted to stop at a few more places. I had done a bit of research the previous night; lookin at options fairly close to where we were staying. So, we headed back to the 3rd and onto Rue Rambuteau for our first stop - Le Comptoir de Mathilde.

Part of a chain of shops and franchises across the country.

By this time; the Missus was focused on caramels and chocolates. 

Quite chain like and commercial....but fun to stroll thru.

Le Comptoir de Mathilde
42 rue Rambuteau
75003 Paris France

Less than a block away we were now in the 4th, was another popular chain; this one based in Paris named À la Mère de Famille.

 The woman working was so nice and friendly that we bought a couple of boxes of chocolates.

À la Mère de Famille
23 Rue Rambuteau
75004 Paris, France

The shop I saved for last was Jacques Genin also in the Marais. You can read more about the Chef and his shop on David Lebovitz's post. Anyway, just looking at the place tells you quite a bit.

I just hung back and let the Missus do Her thing.

She put together quite a lovely (and expensive - but of course you can tell that, right?) box for Herself.

Jacques Genin
133 Rue de Turenne
75003 Paris, France

After which we headed back to our accommodations.

For our last evening in Paris I wanted to do something fun. I had read about Le Cheese Geek on a wonderful post from Madame Fromage and ended up booking a cheese tasting.

Our tasting took place at Fromagerie Saisons which was pretty close to  where we were staying. Everything about our booking was easy. We ended up at the cheese shop a few minutes before our tasting and were quickly welcomed in. The tasting took place in the "cave" below the shop....but first; we had to pass all the tempting cheese for sale.

Our guide thru this tasting was Fabrice; who was engaging and had a great sense of humor. Our group of ten was diverse; from "curd nerds" to their friend who just came along for the ride.

Typical question - "is it ok to eat the rind?"

Fabrice - "yes, of course..." and he went on to to explain.

My remark - "just don't do that with the babybel, ok....unless you like rubber...."

We had a nice selection with a nice pairing.

   First up was a farmer's cheese made from raw goat's milk in ash named Le Roumé. This was so very light, with a mild acidity, with a nice clean finish.

It was a nice start.

This was paired with a very nice and clean Sauvignon.

Next up was a wonderful Brebis.

   This amazing Brebis d’Estive from the mountains of the Aspe Valley is from the farm of Maxime Bajas whose entire herd consists of 100 sheep! It was so wonderfully savory and nutty to my palate, with a mildly rich finish.

This was served with Candied Piment d’Espelette and was served with a nice Gamay.

   

This was an amazing duo of Comté, a Comté Jeune aged 8 months and a Vieux Comté aged from 36 - 42 months. Both from Montmorot. This was nice example of a difference in taste and texture of aged chesses.

   Next up was my favorite duo of a wonderful Camembert de Normandie, so deeply savory and earthy, made from a maker whose entire herd consists of 80 cows; paired appropriately with a nice apple cider. And the Munster, very ripe and "footy" from Alsace.

   The last cheese was a wonderful Roquefort, made by a small producer Maison Carles which works with mold from the local rye bread. This was served with a Tawny Port....something I hadn't tried before this tasting, but has now become part of my routine with Roquefort.

Our tasting with Fabrice and  Le Cheese Geek was delicious, educational, and most of all a lit of fun. Since our visit, Le Cheese Geek now has a permanent location in the 10th Arrondissement. As with most of these type of events, things are currently paused due to Covid; but by all means give them a try once we're over this pandemic.

Le Cheese Geek
31 Rue Sainte-Marthe
75010 Paris, France

   This being the end of May (2019), it was still quite bright outside as we walked back to our accommodations. And though we had initially thought that perhaps we'd grab a small bite to eat on the way back, we were pretty full.

As is kind of my tradition on my last night in a locale, I purchased a beer on the way back to the apartment.

Where we just packed up, caught on emails and messages, then relaxed.

I'm always so thankful that we're able to travel and have these wonderful meals and experiences. And even more thankful to be able to share them with you.

Yes, we may still be stuck at home right now; but one day, hopefully soon, we'll be able to travel again. And we'll make the best of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Recently Consumed - The Online Ordering Edition: Cheese from Stepladder Creamery and Salumi from Salumi Chicago

One thing I'll say about our current situation is that I've finally started ordering foodstuff online....and no, I don't mean those food delivery apps..... What I'm referring to is going thru various lists and references to fill our larder and our stomachs......if you're reading our little blog; you know I'm already sold on the quality of Rancho Gordo's beans and nixtamalized corn. It's amazing how quickly the dried beans cook, the flavors are amazing, and it's definitely worth the price.

Having dipped my feet in the water and with the recent almost record setting heat, I went and ordered from two other producers, with success.

Stepladder Creamery:

Well, you know how the Missus and I enjoy a cheese board when the weather gets warmer....and yes, I do keep a Cheese Journal. We've done the Sonoma-Marin Cheese Trail and cheese has become a large part of our travels; we even did a fun cheese tasting in Paris.....I'll get to that post soon.

So, why not order cheese directly from the cheesemaker? I saw this fantastic post on Madame Fromage's Blog and noticed that one of the cheesemakers mentioned was Stepladder Creamery, which is located in Cambria. So, I placed an order for the Small Cheese Plate Bundle - $50. Free shipping with orders over $50. It was shipped overnight (they ship on Mondays) and arrived in beautiful shape.

Wasn't sure about how we'd enjoy the Fromage Blanc, but the spicy fromage blanc is quite good smeared on bread! Nice and smoky.

The interesting this was; we probably got too excited when this first arrived and set it out right away, with only a 15-20 minute time to bring to temp. It was still a bit too chilled and we weren't too impressed.

But, on our second meal; it was warmer and the cheese came up to temp nicely and we really enjoyed the cheese.

I took to the Paso Vino, which had a nice richness, along with an almost stone-fruit/"pruniness". Loved the texture once it reaches room temp. The Missus really enjoyed the Big Sur, which was smooth, rich, with a nutty finish.

Stepladder Creamery Website

Salumi Chicago:

I first read about Greg Laketek and Salumi Chicago in this wonderful post on Fooditor. It's a great story, quote the Chicago Salumi website; "Greg Laketek quit his day job and booked a one-way ticket to Parma, Italy, the home of Prosciutto, seeking to train under the best salumiere in the world." Awesome. Parma? Oh man......memories of eating Ciccioli and Culatello di Zibello in the steps of San Petronio Basilica! Anyway, there was a free shipping with orders over $50 on the Salumi Chicago website. I placed an order....and waited until our package arrived. These products are shelf stable, so it handles the priority shipping well.

We bought an extra Salami Tartufo for Frankie's auntie "Alle"...who, being half Italian, loves all the good stuff from the "old country". We also got Chorizo for the Missus who loves the stuff and a Soppressata (all uncured).

All three were wonderful! The soppressata was a nice surprise as it had a good "kick" from the Calabrian peppers. Nicely balanced pork-salt-fat, great texture....perhaps the best I've had outside of Italy! Only heritage hogs are used, these are really delicious high quality products and we'll keep ordering. Can't wait to try the 'Nduja!

Salumi Chicago Website

So, a hundred bucks later, I felt both purchases were well worth the money....you got excellent product from the producers. Shipping was free and this was totally worth the money.

Have you been ordering food/products online directly from the producers?

I'd like to know how that's working out for you.

As always, any recommendations are much welcomed!

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!