mmm-yoso!!!

Road Trip - A Revisit to Madeline's (Cambria)

Another one of the reasons for us returning to Cambria was to dine at Madeline's once again. We first dined here back in 2020 and enjoyed it so much that we returned a year later. I big plus is that the wine shop by day, restaurant by night has several outdoor tables and allowed dogs. I made sure to request our favorite, known as "patio 1".

After shopping and lunch, we drove over to El Colibri, it was before the published check in time, but our dog friendly room was ready! Lucky us. So we managed a short nap. When JJ woke, while the Missus relaxed and read, I took him for a stroll along the Moonstone Beach Boardwalk which I've posted on before. The boardwalk is basically right out the hotel's doors!

JJ enjoyed the walk and made some new "friends" and the view is just a lovely as I remembered.

And I don't recall seeing deer around here before!

I think that it is a "seasonal" thing?

After returning and freshening up; we were ready to head out for dinner a bit early.

Also close to the hotel, right down the road is Shamel Park. We love walking along the beach and the sunsets here are lovely, though on this evening we had to get to dinner. 

We headed on back up Windsor Road and crossed over Highway One onto main street. West Main was very sedate on this evening.

As we passed Mushrooms on Main, this friendly gal popped up!

We gave her a treat and the friendly owner invited JJ in for a "play date". Unfortunately, we had to get to dinner, so we took a rain check. We'll definitely return here on our next trip.

We arrived at Madeline's and were directed to our table. The Server was quite friendly to JJ. The Missus looked over the wine list and immediately ordered a Sauvignon Blanc.

We looked over the menu which is seasonal and ever changing. It did have several items that we'd enjoyed on our previous visits.

And there seemed to be so many mushroom based dishes....it was our lucky day! We placed our order and then bread service arrived.

Sadly, the bread, while nice and warm was not ready for prime time. It had been smushed down and the middle was still wet. It was probably pulled out before it was ready.

In keeping with our usual ordering at Madeline's we went with all appetizers and a salad. This way we get a nice variety of dishes that tend to be more interesting.

The only real "clunker" of the meal arrived with the first three dishes; the Bruschetta ($20).

With the sweet balsamic glaze, the sour tower of goat cheese, this was a bit too much for this dish. You really couldn't make out the eggplant which had been breaded and fried, but got soggy quite quickly.

The ship was quickly "righted" as the Baby Spinach Salad ($13) arrived.

As I mentioned before, we love the Bacon Vinaigrette here! It adds a wonderful smoky-savory component to a salad.

Another item we've always enjoyed have been the scallop dishes, and the Scallops Saint Jacques ($20) was no exception.

I had thought that the duxelles would be a bit too much for this dish; but as usual, the scallops were perfectly cooked, perfectly rare the way we like it. The lemon buerre blanc added a nice refreshing note to the dish.

We ordered two additional mushroom appetizers, both of which were quite hearty.

The Duck and Wild Mushroom ($20) featured two of our favorite ingredients. But man, combined with the cream sauce it edged on being a bit too much!

And the Tartine Forestiere ($20), featuring both local and smoked mushrooms was a study in umami.

Even the goat cheese and balsamic glaze could not temper the wonderful flavors of the mushrooms!

I finished as always with a Tawny Port.

Overall, this was yet another wonderful meal at Madeline's. And since we can always bring JJ....and get "Patio 1", I'm sure we'll return again, Hopefully soon.

Madeline's Restaurant & Wine Tasting Room
788 Main St.
Cambria, CA 93428

The next morning, the Missus decided to sleep in, so I took JJ for a walk to Cambria Coffee which I've posted on a couple of times before and had a cold brew and just relaxed.

Cambria Coffee Roasting Company
761 Main St.
Cambria, CA 93428

And soon enough we headed back home. 

This short road trip was a test to see how JJ would handle things. He always seemed to enjoy riding in the car. And he did enjoy Morro Bay and our stops in Ojai and Cayucos. He did well in Cambria and on the drive home. So, you could say he passed with flying colors. And since we can't really travel Internationally....we want to wait until JJ is a bit older before leaving him with his Aunty, this meant more road trips were in store!

Thanks for stopping by!

Finca

So, the Missus wanted an early weekend dinner/happy hour and was thinking of revisiting Tribute Pizza. So, we drove on up and found parking on North Park Way. We were a bit early though and Tribute was still closed. We went and did some strolling thru the area and headed back toward our vehicle when I noticed this shop in the newish apartment complex on the corner of Grim and North Park Way. I then recalled our good friend Candice had mentioned the place, named Finca to me and thought we might enjoy it.

Turns out that Finca opens at 3pm on weekends with a Happy Hour from 3 to 6 pm. We decided to give the place a try. This was before the recent super cold spell, so we had a seat outside.

The folks working were very friendly! We were handed a menu, with some items that looked quite "hipsterish", but interesting to us. There were some featured small plates which were $10 during HH.

The Missus started with some red sangria, which was $10 during HH. She enjoyed it and followed with the house red; which She also enjoyed during our meal.

Since I saw Beef Tartare on the menu and it was priced at just ten bucks during Happy Hour; you know I had to order it, right?

Well, this wasn't a good start to our meal as the beef was mushy; over dressed; though we enjoyed the pickled green beans and the pungent-savory fried onions. The item we least enjoyed was the cardboardish, hard, flat bread, which had no flavor at all.

Things completely changed with the Bone Marrow ($16). Ah yes, you know me with beef tartare and bone marrow, right? We really weren't sure when the bone marrow arrived, with a layer of red pepper jelly smeared on it.

Loved the yeasty grilled sourdough, which went so well with the beefy-tallowy-buttery bone marrow. We made sure to get every single drop of the rendered fat. No wonder there's an option to do a Bone Marrow luge to finish! The red pepper jelly had a hint of sweetness, sour, and acidic-spice to complement and cut the richness. This was quite good.

We also got the Lamb "Chorizo" ($18) which were more like lamb meatballs.

The meatballs were very tasty; more African-Middle Eastern flavors to use, cumin...that sort of thing. It was enjoyably gamy, nice "flavor of the pasture" as it were. The "soubise"; basically a bechamel based like sauce was a bit too sour and sweet for us.

We managed to take a look inside the restaurant-bar before leaving.

Stylish; somewhat moody.

We really liked the service and the food, especially the bone marrow was quite enjoyable. So, we decided to return a couple of weeks later. Again it was for an early dinner on a weekend.

The Missus again enjoyed the Sangria, followed by a glass of the house red. The service again was warm and friendly.

We started with the Red Wine Spanish Sausage ($17). 

Now this was the one dish that really reminded us of Spain. Yes, there's grits on this; which were quite tasty, and that black garlic sauce wasn't too sweet, but along with the shallots added some nice pungency. The sausage itself had great flavor....there seemed to be hints of coriander and other spices; which just took me back to Seville for some reason.

And of course we had the bone marrow again.

Which was even better this time around! The fat was even more rendered and we could make out a hint of salt which heightened the flavors!

We had one last dish for the evening; the Chicken Liver Mousse ($15).

The mousse was quite runny, very metallic, almost bitter. Not a fan of the very dry milk bread and the dish goes a bit overboard with sweet items. The pork cracklins ' were super hard instead of crisp...heck, I almost "cracklin'd" my tooth on a piece. We'll pass on this one in the future.

Yes, I said in the future. While I'm sure we'll make that revisit to Tribute soon, we enjoyed that bone marrow and the wonderful staff enough to return again! When we're in the mood for California-ish "tapas" with Middle Eastern and Asian, hipster-modern touches. To us, this is what BoujieManacould be!

Finca
3066 North Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Current Hours:
Tues - Thurs 5pm - 9pm
Friday            5pm - 10pm
Saturday        3pm - 10pm
Sunday           3pm - 9pm
Happy Hours:
Tues - Fri       5pm - 6pm
Sat - Sun        3pm - 6pm
Closed on Mondays

Finca also features a bottle shop which opens at 3pm

BoujieMana

Ah yes, BoujieMana. Like would you actually go to a place with "Boujie" in the name? Not quite sure how I heard about the place, but what fascinated me the most was the location, off Aero Drive. You basically go to where there's massive construction happening on Aero Drive, then head on down Aero Court to where the street ends at a office park. The restaurant, is in what looks like a business complex, on the other side of the Mira Bella Apartments. Shades of Green Acre, but not in Torrey Pines/Sorrento Valley/East Village.

I had looked at the menu online and thought that it would make for an interesting lunch excursion.

It was quiet during our lunch visit on this day. It was before the heatwave and we decided to have a seat in the deck area.

The large restaurant serves lunch and dinner during the week and brunch during weekends. The menu has some variations for each dining option and we were told that there are monthly changes to the menu.

Being the nosy customers we are, we spied what the other two tables were getting and determined that the sandwiches and pizzas seemed a bit hefty. In keeping with how we like to dine these days; we find that appetizers sometimes give a better outlook into the restaurant as the chef can take more chances with food, we ended up ordering three starters and a salad.

The Missus saw Smoked Deviled Eggs ($9) and made sure to try that.

The Missus usually enjoys deviled eggs, but this wasn't a favorite of Hers. I think it's the sourish salsa verde which was intensified with the pickled jalapenos that took this over-the-top. Too many sour tones, which really seems unappetizing on eggs to us. 

The Roasted Octopus ($19) was interesting as it was "almost there" for us.

The octopus was pleasantly tender, the bean puree was nice and creamy, potent acidity.......it was just a bit too salty. I'm thinking that some bread would go really well with this; tempering the saltiness and complementing the savory-acidity well.

The portion size for Wild Chicory Caeser ($16) was quite large. Instead of bacon, this featured crisped prosciutto which added a nice layer of salty-savory sweetness.

We enjoyed the bitter tones and the fact that the salad wasn't over-dressed. In fact, the leftovers did well with dinner. The salty-cheesy parmesan added another layer of flavor to the salad.

We were both curious as to how a Mediterranean restaurant would interpret an Aguachile. So, we ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Aguachile ($21) and this turned out to be our favorite dish of the meal.

 As we figured, this wasn't an aguachile in conventional terms. It wasn't overly acidic, but quite mellow. Though I will say the seafood, especially the bay scallops were sweet and tender, so were the shrimp. Both of which weren't over-cooked and tough. The sweet and ripe avocado and the briny cucumber added another layer. But what clinched it all was the nicely toasted and salted sour dough, which was the perfect foil for the dish. Yes, it's not a conventional version of the dish, but we enjoyed it. We both wished that the octopus had that nicely toasted sour dough with it as well.

So, a few weeks later we decided to return; again for lunch.

This time, it was during the heatwave, so we sat in the large interior of the restaurant.

Of course we got the Aguachile.

This time it had a bit more acidity and "oomph". Still, the sweet and tender seafood was still present.

We decided to order the Mediterranean Pita ($19) as well. As with our experience with previous dishes, the portion size was quite large.

   The highlight of the dish for us was the pillowy and warm pita. After that, well, everything was way too sour. Man, that chicken might have been ok, but the puckery-tartness overwhelmed things. Same with the green salad. Yikes, the sharp sourness just took over. Kind of a bummer.

In the end, we really enjoy the not-so-aguachile here, while not a true Mexican version of the dish, it is quite pleasant and the quality of ingredients here seems good. Service is welcoming, though things do take time getting to your table. I'm sure the folks in the new developments in the area appreciate the place and with all that is going on in the locale that it will keep being "boujie". 

I need to return to try the chicken wings and the crispy squash blossoms.

Things have sure changed since my office was in the area way back when!

BoujieMana
3545 Aero Ct. Suite B
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Tues - Fri 11am - 9pm
Saturday   9am - 9pm
Sunday      9am - 2pm
Closed on Monday

Road Trip - Bar le Cote (Los Olivos)

After spending the evening in Monterey Park and having dinner a Mandarin Noodle House we headed up to our destination. We'd be spending the night in Buellton with reservations for lunch the next day at one of our favorite restaurants in the area, Bell's. Of course we couldn't check in until 3pm, so we needed a a place to pass the time and also for some lunch.

We had always enjoyed Los Olivos; we had enjoyed our first lunch there back in 2018 at the now defunct The Bear and Star and had always enjoyed strolling and shopping the town. Even though our last meal there at Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe was just passable, we love the vibe of the town. We'd gladly stay there except that hotel and AirBnB prices there are way too expensive for us! Thus, we'd be staying in Buellton.

I had read that the owners of Bell's were now co-owners of a Seafood forward restaurant named Bar le Cote in Los Olivos and it seemed like a nice lunch and shopping stop for us. So, I made reservations for a nice Thursday lunch. The place opens at noon, and we got into town a bit early, which gave us some time to do a bit of shopping.

The Missus loved this shop.

It might have been this that drew Her in.

Avec Moi Decor
2906 Grand Ave.
Los Olivos, CA 93441

The shops kept us occupied until the clock struck noon and we walked over to the cottage which housed the self-described "Seafood Tavern".

We waited a bit to be noticed and when the rather abrupt hostess came over, we chose to eat al fresco since it was such a nice day.

The woman Serving us was very professional and nice.

We ordered a couple of dishes I'd read about and since I was a fan of the beef tartare at Bell's, we ordered that as well.

First up was the Peel & Eat Shrimp ($18).

We found the "BLC spice" a bit on the saltier side which nullified the flavor of the shrimp. The shrimp were also over-cooked and rubbery. In this case adding the cocktail sauce or the aioli just further distracted one from the shrimp.

The dry aged Yellowtail Crudo ($24) had a wonderful, firm, yet almost cheese like texture and the flavor was quite mild.

We enjoyed the acidity from the lemon vinaigrette as well.

Next up, the beef tartare ($28).

    The fried oysters were an interesting touch, I guess it was there to replace the usual egg yolk, and of course BLC is a seafood based restaurant. but we didn't care for the fishiness it added to the beef which was almost mushy. The horseradish cream was excellent; adding the palate and nasal cleansing pungency to things. It seems like everything was minced too finely. The fries were crisp and lightly dusted with what seemed to be the "BLC Spice". In this instance it seemed to work fairly well.

Last up was the Crispy Skin Branzino ($34).

This was the best item of the day; the skin was very crisp, yet light, with a briny edge. The flesh of the fish was tender, moist, with a hint of oceany sweetness. The charred lemon added a smoky-citrusy-sweetness. The Romesco Sauce was fine, but not needed. The greens were crisp and fresh.

Overall, an inconsistent meal which ran over a hundred, plus an automatic 20% (which we have no problem with) was not quite what we expected. I don't think we'll return. Which is too bad since we'd enjoyed Bell's so much.

Bar Le Côte
2375 Alamo Pintado Ave.
Los Olivos, CA 93441

Then it was time to head on over to Buellton.

Thanks for stopping by!

Mabel's Gone Fishing - A Quick Look

The Missus had been wanting to check out Mabel's Gone Fishing for a while and after learning the restaurant had earned Michelin Bib Gourmand status, well we just had to visit. Of course, first one had to get a table and because of the accolades getting a reservation was a bit difficult, but eventually, we managed to snag some reservations for an al fresco table on bustling 30th street. While the tables were tiny, we enjoyed watching how excited pooches were going to Dexter's Deli, the "Health Food" pet store across the street.

The seafood focused menu is heavily Iberian-influenced, which really excited us as we've always enjoyed the food and ingredients of the Iberian Peninsula/Coast. It was nice to see Jamon Iberico Bellota, but at $42 a plate....and well, the very nice Server didn't understand when I asked if it was "Pata Negra", the really good stuff I always get when visiting Spain, so we decided to pass.

The menu is designed for sharing which we love, and we got 3 small plates and 2 larger sharing plates. I started with the "G and T of the Month".

Which was clean and refreshing if a bit weak in the Gin department.

The staff was very friendly, even though the place filled quickly.

The first dish up was the Stuffed Piquillos ($16). 

In spite of having bacalao, this dish was quite bland. The peppers lacked the smoky-slightly bitter sweetness with a light touch of "heat" that I'm used to with piquillos. As mentioned earlier, the bacalao with breadcrumbs was really bland. I mean, we had four meals with bacalhau in Lisbon and I would never ever call anything I had there "bland" or in need of salt like these were.

Next up was the Mussels Escabeche ($14).

   First off, the grilled sourdough was fantastic, texturally and in taste. As for the mussels, well the shellfish was tender enough, but the "escabeche" was really weak. I'm used to a good acidic, flavorful escabeche, the addition of paprika for smokiness, more points for garlicky-oniony tones, all of which seemed to be missing here. To be honest, any number of tinned mussels from Tunaville (post upcoming) would be more enjoyable to us then this. But heck, that sourdough was good on its own. On a positive note, this brought back wonderful memories of our lunch at Michelin starred Bell's in Los Alamos, so I went ahead and made reservations. We got yet another road trip coming up!

I was curious about the Smoked Potatoes ($18), since I make versions of smoked potatoes at home.

This was not very pleasing. The potatoes were slightly smoky, really hard in texture, and not seasoned enough. Not sure about the katsuobushi since instead of adding a nice savory component, it brought fishiness to the dish. I think having more smokiness, cooking to where the interior is creamy and the exterior of the potatoes crisp, and seasoning well would do the trick.

At this point in time there was a rather long pause for our mains. I decided to order an Old Fashioned which was quite good.

It was about a 30-minute wait for our larger plates.

The Clam Toast ($26) was up next. And like the mussels the toast was the star of this plate as well.

The clams were decently cooked, though there was a bit of grit. The basil and tomatoes added brightness to the dish, but there wasn't enough of it.  We actually tore up the basil so the flavors could be more spread out in the dish. We enjoyed the red pepper, but the dish could have used more in terms of salt and pepper.

Last up was the Grilled Prawns ($28).

This dish could really have been a winnah; the prawns were a tad overcooked, but the flesh was still sweet, and those heads were perfect for imbibing (aka sucking). Below the prawns was crispy (hard) rice but not enough juice, sauce, or anything to really add flavor to the rice.

In the end, we loved the sourdough. In fact, the Missus is wanting me to visit Secret Sister to get some for Her. It's tough when my two favorite things about a meal is the bread and the Old Fashioned.

The service was very nice, the pacing a bit off, and the food...well, if this visit were in those days of yore, when I would always do multiple visits before doing a post (which I still require for myself for more inexpensive places) these photos would have never seen the "light of day". But things have changed over the last couple of years. As it is, I don't see us returning to Mabel's.

Sad because the Missus was really looking forward to our meal here.

For a different view of Mabel's you can read Soo's post here.

Mabel's Gone Fishing
3770 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Tues - Fri 4pm - 10pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm, 4pm - 10pm
Sunday 10am - 2pm

Toulouse - Les P'tits Fayots

After a nice day of checking out the Markets and doing some exploring, we decided to do a bit more walking before dinner.

We also decided to drop by a couple of places I had on my "list" to try and make dinner reservations for upcoming nights. Many of the restaurants I had on my list didn't do online reservations and required a phone call. Unfortunately, my French is beyond hideous, so we decided to try and appear in person to make reservations. Unfortunately, since this was a weekend, it was big time fail. 

On this night though, we had dinner reservations. It was quite a blessing in disguise. I mentioned in an earlier post, that I had tried to get a private tour with Elyse Riven who heads up Toulouse Guided Walks and is often a guest on one of my favorite podcasts, Join Us in France. Unfortunately, Elyse was I believe out of the country at the time, so we downloaded her VoiceMap audio tour. Elyse was kind enough to make some recommendations for dinner and also for visiting Albi, which is where we were headed the following day. 

One of the places she recommended and was on my "list" was Les P'tits Fayots, a nice little restaurant that does small, shareable plates. And they did online reservations!

The location is on a side street, the restaurant quite discreet.

The Missus enjoyed the fact that veggies were well represented on the menu and also enjoyed the wine selection. The service was very warm and friendly. Toulouse is a lot ore laid back than Paris!

The first item up was the Pomme de Terre Confit & Hareng Fume. Wonderfully earthy potatoes confit which was paired nicely with the savory smoked herring.

The mustard creme added a bit of punch and along with the starchiness of the potatoes helped handle the umami-heavy herring.

Next up; the Sable Emmenthal Noisette.

Basically Emmenthal and hazelnut biscuits; this was quite an interesting combination. The celery cream was interesting; we actually enjoyed the greens and herbs the best, nice texture and a touch of bitterness.

Sucrine & Ouef Mollet. You know the Missus and eggs right?

The Missus loved the runny soft boiled egg and even the creamy Mornay Sauce, which was very balanced in terms of butteriness and cheesiness. She also loved the sucrine, a lettuce that seemed like baby romaine, it tastes so clean and the shaved Parmesan and mild sauce added so much savory notes to the dish.

The last dish was actually our favorite. The Langoustine Boullion.

The Langoustine was so tender, sweet, and oceany. And that broth was seasoned perfectly, with just enough salt to highlite the touches of sea faring flavors. Bread with this......

We really enjoyed our meal. It was our favorite of our stay in Toulouse. We loved the service and the food!

Les P'tits Fayots
8 Rue de l'Esquile
31000 Toulouse, France

Road Trip - Dinner at Geronimo (Santa Fe, NM)

We took a short break after our day of hiking and exploring. Our room was very comfortable, I'm sure we'll stay here again next time.

For our "special" meal in Santa Fe, I had originally wanted Sazon, but due to the chef recently winning the James Beard Best Chef Southwest (2022), I just wasn't able to get reservations. So I searched around a bit and saw Geronimo mentioned on many lists. And I managed to make reservations with no problem. 

And deciding to make the 20 minute walk up (and then down) artsy Canyon Road would turn out to be a lot of fun. The street is full of historic adobe houses, most of which have been turned into art galleries. 

Canyon Road is made for strolling, exploring and enjoying all the art.

   I'm glad we headed out early as we spent a good amount of time checking out various galleries and all the wonderful art!

My favorite by far is "Peace Offering" by the late Walt Horton, in which a squirrel offers up an acorn to a sweet looking and curious bear. It looks so wonderfully adorable. You can't help but smile when you see it!

Geronimo is located in a historic 250 year old building. The namesake of the restaurant is not who you think it would be, but rather it is named for Geronimo Lopez who was the house's original owner.

While many folks were seated on the veranda, we chose seats in the warm and classy dining room.

The service was excellent, the perfect mix of efficient professionalism without being snobby or intrusive. Things got off on the right foot with a glass of Champagne.

After perusing the menu; the Missus decided on the four course Vegetarian Tasting Menu  ($80) with a wine pairing ($90). I decided to order two appetizers and a side for my meal.

The Missus's first course was a nice Endive Salad.

Nice peppery-bitterness from the endive, I thought the onion vinaigrette had a good pungent-sweet balance.

Up for me was the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio ($30).

Man, this was so good. The clean, almost sweet slices of Wagyu Beef went so well with the bitter-nutty arugula. The shreds of Parmesan added salty milkiness, while the classic addition of capers provided the right amount of a pickled sour and salt. The herb oil really wasn't needed, but the mustard horseradish sauce was just perfect on this.

Next up for the Missus was the Wild Mushroom and Sherry Bisque.

    In what was a very classy move, I was brought out a cup of the bisque as well since I had to wait for my next course! Super cool! The bisque was decadently smooth and velvety, but the Missus said there wasn't enough earthy mushroom flavor for Her. Of course, She's become quite the mushroom soup snob.

Since I hadn't expected a course, I had ordered an Old Fashioned, which was quite delish.

Next up for me....why I ordered appetizers part 2, the Foie Gras ($30).

   Perfectly seared , this wiggly slice of heaven was delici-yoso, with the duck demiglace adding another layer of rich-savory flavor. The "French Toast" teetered on the sweeter side, but the foie gras nicely brought it back to earth.

I also got a side of Broccolini ($10) which was nicely cooked, because....well, I needed something that actually looked healthy, you know what I mean?

The Missus's next dish was the Risotto. 

Nice basil tones and that Parmesan infusion went so well with the peppery-citrusy flavored arborio rice. The artichokes and asparagus were delicious. But, as is often the case with risotto, some of the rice was still on the hard and chewy side. Still, great flavors overall.

The Missus enjoyed Her dessert, the Meyer Lemon Crepe.

  This was a nice meal, with classy, yet warm and unstuffy service, and worth the price in our mind. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairing. It was a great way to end our time in Santa Fe.

Geronimo
724 Canyon Rd.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

We headed back down Canyon Road and ran into one of the two couples (the one without the pooch) we saw during our hike. They recognized us first and said hello. We all cracked up! They were headed to Geronimo and we told them that they'd enjoy there meal there. We hope they did.

Ambling back to the hotel, in the light of the "golden hour" (the sun doesn't set until after 7pm in September), admiring all the art, gave us time to reflect on how lucky we were to be able to dine at places like Geronimo and enjoy cities like Santa Fe.

And "Peace Offering" will always bring a smile to my face!

Paris (2022) - Musée d'Histoire de la Médecine, Au Petit Versailles du Marais, Dinner at Pirouette, and Some Revisits

After enjoying our croissant at Square Samuel-Paty, I took a look at the time. It was perfect; the museum we wanted to visit, The Musée d'Histoire de la Médecine would be opening in five minutes. We headed on over the two blocks to Paris Descartes University and was instantly confused. I quickly stepped into the local tabac shop and the really nice gentleman pointed me in the right direction. The museum is located on the second floor of the College of Surgery.

The first floor features statues of well known practitioners of medicine. In fact, if you look at this painting.....

And then the accompanying "guide", you might recognize some names.

The building itself is quite impressive. It was  build between 1769 and 1775 by Architect Jacques Gondouin and was the original location of the Medical School which was founded in 1803.

For us, the main focus was the collection of medical instruments. The museum is famous for having the bag and tools of François Carlo Antommarchi which was used for the autopsy of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

I think I'll leave the verbiage here; you'll be able to figure out what all these medical instruments tools were used for. Some are fairly cringe worthy.

And while not quite as enjoyable as the Surgeons' Hall Museums in Edinburgh, this was an interesting stop.

And was well worth the 4 Euro entrance fee.

Musée de l'Histoire de la Médecine
12 Rue de l'École de Médecine
75006 Paris, France

This was back in May and it was a beautiful day.

On the way back to our accommodation, the Missus wanted to stop by what She called a "nice café" that She had enjoyed the previous day when I was taking the baguette class, so we headed on over to Au Petit Versailles du Marais. I cracked up when I saw the sign....

The Missus didn't understand why I cracked up. I told Het look at the sign, it says "Christian Vabret, Meilleur Ouvrier de France". She said "So....." And I had to explain "think of it this way, it's competition for the best in France in different categories." Once you win you hold the title for life. So you found the Boulangerie of a "master". And all by accident.

The Missus then told me; "I was wondering why all these tour groups were stopping by this place while I was enjoying my pastry and coffee.....it was so annoying!"

You gotta love it.

It's a lovely little shop with many temptations.

The Missus made Her selection and we both got coffee.....

And the Missus really enjoyed Her treat!

Au Petit Versailles du Marais
1 Rue Tiron
75004 Paris, France

We then headed back to the apartment for a nice little break. We decided to have dinner nearby. I had read some good reviews on Restaurant Pirouette which was basically a block from where we were staying, so we decided to see if we would be able to grab an early dinner there. Since it was fairly early, there were outdoor tables available.

We ordered 1 entree (appetizer) and 2 plats, starting with the Langoustine "Tempura" (18 €).

Notice the quotation marks around "tempura". This wasn't deep fried. It was also overcooked, chewy, and under-seasoned. The fennel did add a nice anise-crunch and textural contrast. The pesto rosso; sun dried tomato pesto, was pretty much sun dried tomato oil. Not very good.

The Missus got Razor Clams and Cockles (25€).

The white wine sauce was nicely done, it had a nice, pleasant acidity. Unfortunately, there was a good amount of "grit" in this dish which made eating a bit unpleasant. The potatoes were really dry, though the razor clams were tender and sweet.

I got the Lamb Shank, Chard, and Thyme Jus (28€).

The lamb was super tough and there just wasn't enough of the thyme sauce to go around. The leaves of chard were basically uncooked.

Service was a mixed bag; the young lady working was wonderful, but it seemed that the gentleman working just wanted us out of the way.

This was the most disappointing meal of the trip.

Restaurant Pirouette
5 Rue Mondétour
75001 Paris, France

After dinner we took a short stroll, then headed back to the apartment to watch the sunset. We relaxed, caught up on emails and then decided to head on out for a nightcap. We had enjoyed our previous visits to Jefrey's on Rue Grenata. So, we headed there.

I don't know if Covid had really affected things, but the drinks tasted watered down and the service was not as welcoming as on our previous visits.

Jefrey's
14 Rue Saint Sauveur
75002 Paris France

Man, it was kinda sad, we were "oh-fer-two" on favorites of ours during this trip. We headed down Rue Tiquetonne on the way back to the apartment and came across a familiar site.

The Golden Promise Whisky Bar. When waiting for our table at ERH, we'd had a drink here. Hmmmm.....well, we decided to givre it a shot and this time, instead of drinking at the bar on street level, we headed downstairs to the bar. Which had almost a speakeasy like feel to it.

Not wanting to mess around with another cocktail, I just had a Yamazaki Single Malt, which was a nice end to the evening before calling it a night.

It was quite interesting as the other folks at the bar seemed like regulars.

Golden Promise Whisky Bar
11 Rue Tiquetonne
75002 Paris, France

Arriving back at the flat, we decided to get to sleep fairly early. But not before enjoying the sites from the window.

Edinburgh (2022) - Dinner at Restaurant Martin Wishart

We had wanted one blow out meal during our stay in Edinburgh. So after doing some research and then trying to hunt down reservations I came up with Martin Wishart. Even though the one Michelin Star restaurant was in Leith, almost 2 1/2 miles away, we could always catch a cab if we desired. Of course, as things ended up we walked both ways. It was a fairly pleasant walk. Leith was once Edinburgh's seaport and had fallen into disrepair following World War II. But during the early 2000's, the neighborhood has been revitalized and with the mooring of the Royal Yacht Britannia and the conversion of the Ocean Terminal into a shopping center, along with artists, musicians, and designers moving into the area it has been ranked as one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. Well, we walked on over and the place seemed quite mellow on this Saturday night, we were probably in the wrong area, but we kind of enjoyed the relaxed nature of things.

We were greeted immediately after entering the restaurant. Service was friendly and professional, though the timing of the dishes was inconsistent as there were a few long waits between dishes. The Sommelier though, was outstanding! He helped the Missus pick Her tasting as if he read Her mind and totally understood Her taste and preferences. 

The Missus and I decided to go with the three course "Market Menu" and each had one of the two choices available for the three courses. That way we could taste one of each item available on the menu.

Things started with some delicious bread and the four course amuse bouche featured beetroot and crowdie, cod roe and fennel, potato and smoked egg yolk, and horse radish and celeriac.

The highlite was the smoked eggyolk and potato, the flavors of each component seemed so intensified

The Sea Bream Tartare was nice though nothing really special.

Having both the strong flavor of lemon and the brininess of capers was a bit much. The soy foam was fine. The fish had been perfectly prepared and marinated though, the texture was a perfect creamy toothsomeness.

The Roasted Veal Sweetbread was an amazing "earthy" and textural delight.

The sweetbread was perfectly fried, crisp coating, creamy interior, slightly earthy and mildly sweet with a hint of offal sharpness. The flavors of the morels added another luxurious layer of earthiness with a nutty finish. The broadbeans finished things off nicely along with the wonderful jus.

Another dish that was perfectly prepared was the Roast Peterhead Skatewing.

The Sauce Grenobloise, featuring brown butter, capers, and good acidity went well with the creamy but mild flavored skate wing. There were a couple of escargot thrown in that really didn't add anything to the dish in our opinion. Loved the confit tomatoes which added a deep acidic fruitiness to the dish. The artichokes were surprisingly creamy.

The Roast Saddle of Dornoch Lamb was wonderfully gamy and meaty, if a bit on the dry side. We loved the rub and sear on this.

This version of Pomme Salardaise, basically garlic potatoes with a good amount of fat, was almost like a creamy croquette. Speaking of croquette, that's a wonderfully porky and crisp fried pork belly on the bottom left which almost looks like one, doesn't it? The asparagus was crisp, fresh, and mildly sweet. The jus featured thyme which was used judiciously and didn't interfere with the overall flavor of the dish.

For dessert the Missus chose the Passion Fruit Creme Fraiche Tart.

Which She enjoyed saying it was both refreshing and quite rich.

I chose the Cheese Course (an extra £10 supplement).

   I wish I took notes on the cheeses. That bleu was fabulous! And like I mentioned earlier the Sommelier was fabulous. When I asked for a "Spot of Port" to go with the cheeses, he selected an amazing Tawny that was perfect with the bleu!

We took the macaroons and "stuffs" to go because we were "stuffed".

The Missus enjoyed these during the rest of our stay in Edinburgh.

Overall, professional but not stuffy service. A bit slow and off in the pacing as the evening wore on, probably due to staffing. The Sommelier was amazing.

Restaurant Martin Wishart
54 The Shore
Edinburgh, Scotland

We then hoofed it back to the apartment. Even though it was a Saturday evening things were pretty quiet as we walked back which was unexpected, but we enjoyed.

We had one more full day in Edinburgh, and we'd try to make the best of it.

Thanks for stopping by!

San Miguel de Allende (2022) - Dinner at The Restaurant and a Revisit to Lavanda Café

We headed out for dinner on our second (and last) night in San Miguel. As with our previous dinner I had taken a recommendation and made reservations for the meal. It was a nice, short stroll to dinner, just a short distance from the main square.

Located in a restored mansion, The Restaurant apparently created quite a buzz when it opened in 2008, and has been credited with changing the food scene in San Miguel.

The dining room is situated in the lovely courtyard (so many beautiful courtyards in SME) and the menu is somewhat globally focused.

Since we had a late lunch we would stick to one of our favorite strategies and go with several appetizers and one main to make our meal.

We started with the Beef Carpaccio - $300/MX.

The beef was tenderloin and quite lean, the truffled ponzu was quite pronounced in flavor and to be perfectly frank served better as a dressing for the nice crisp veggies and potato strings. Loved the addition of mint and cilantro on this.

The Charred Octopus ($300/MX) was indeed quite charred and a bit more chewy than we prefer.

The overall bitterness of the charred Cephalopod marred the dish, though the tomatoes were sweet, with the perfect acidity, and the avocado puree helped balance out whatever heat that was provided by the habanero sauce.

I was intrigued by the Shrimp and Scallop dish ($510/MX), which featured curry dusted scallops and shrimp, and a cauliflower puree, with lentils.

This was pretty good as the shrimp and scallops were perfectly cooked, the curry flavor was tempered and really harmonized with the creamy, nutty-lightly sweet mashed cauliflower. Loved the lentils which added a nice earthy flavor and textural contrast to the dish.

The most interesting item we ordered was the Cheese Plate ($285/MX).

Yes, that's right, the cheese plate. Why? Well, it's all local/regional cheeses and except for the bleu cheese....I'm thinking that it's basically based on the type of edible mold from the area, all the others were pretty good.

    The Missus enjoyed the wine selection and the service was professional and accommodating.

The Restaurant
Diez de Sollano y Dávalos 16
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato Mexico

After dinner we strolled on over to the heart of SME, the Jardín Allende. The Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel looked lovely as the sun slowly set.

And unlike when we visited earlier, the church was open and wasn't having any special event going on, so we went to take a peek inside.

After taking a quick look into the church, we crossed the street to the Jardin and had a seat and enjoyed the passage of time.

It was a nice evening for us.

The next morning we slept in for a bit. The owners of the B&B sent me a text and asked if we wanted them to make us breakfast. Since we were the only customers staying in the place we told them to not go thru the effort. Plus, the Missus wanted to try another pour over from Lavanda Café. So we headed on over a bit before they opened and were the first customers on this morning.

The Missus got Her pour over which She enjoyed.

And we shared a Salsa Verde con Chicharron which the Missus enjoyed.

 The eggs were perfectly cooked, nice tanginess, a bit of heat, a nice, hearty breakfast.

Lavanda Café de Especialidad
Calle del Dr Ignacio Hernandez Macias 87, Zona Centro,
37700 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Since we were the only folks staying at our accommodation, we were told to just take our time, and that we could check out at noon instead of eleven. This would make things work out better for us in terms of getting to our next stop Guanajuato, which would take around 2 hours via Uber.

It was a pretty quiet morning around the Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.

Since the clock was just striking ten, we decided to check out the Museo de San Miguel de Allende right across the street that opened at ten.

   Most of this museum is dedicated to it's former resident; Ignacio Allende, who became a hero of the Mexican War on Independence. The Allende family was a wealthy family and the museum is housed in the family's former home.

Much of the family's living quarters have been restored and I especially like the replica of the original kitchen.

The first floor contains a history of the region as well.

It was a nice little diversion. And soon enough we had to head back to our room and finish packing; call our Uber, and then we were off.....

Next stop Guananjuato!

Thanks for stopping by!