mmm-yoso!!!

Paris - Cafe Constant, Bar du Central, and Le Moulin de la Vierge

On our last evening before heading to Champagne, we decided to take it easy. We'd had a fun and busy trip so far and thought just heading down Rue Saint-Dominique to revisit Cafe Constant would just be low stress and relaxing - remember when they created a sitting space for the Missus under the stairway? Anyway, we hadn't made any reservations for dinner and thought revisiting this casual, affordable, low-stress might be just the thing. We had a plan B, but they had a table open.

Instead of the typical three course meal, we wanted to try some of the other items on the menu. Plus, we knew that 2 apps and one main course would be more than enough for us.

We each started with some wine and then the Terrine of "Kakos", foie gras, pork shin, and lentil salad.

This was delicious; it was also quite a large portion. Definitely rich, porky, with the lentils adding a nice nutty-acidity. This was really good.

The Salmon Marinated like Herrings and boiled potatoes was not.

The salmon was a bit too fishy for us and it didn't have enough of the wonderful savory-acidity and clean finish of the stuff we really like.

The main we shared was more than enough for the both of us; Tete de Veau (Veal head), Langue et Cervelle (Tongue and Brain) Snackees, Pommes Vapeur, et Sauce Gribiche.

The veal head had been rolled and roasted perfectly. The out layer of fat was rich and crisp, the flavor deep and yet without offal tones. It was nicely seasoned as well. Same for the tongue, which seemed to have such a deep beefy flavor and was much more tender than it looked. The brain was a hard sell for the Missus; I think the iodine-metallic tones and almost fishy flavor freaked Her out a bit. And of course, the Missus had discovered how much She loved Sauce Gribiche the night before at Arnaud Nicolas. The potatoes were fine; firm, but cooked through....and that sauce really helped to cut any overly rich and oily tones the dish might have had. Perhaps we'll have the pigeon or the Oursins (uni) with Eggs next time.

Café Constant
139 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

On the way back to the apartment we stopped for a drink to end the evening at one of the many bars that line the street.

The Missus had a nice glass of  Red and I had the "El Burro".

It looked like there were quite a few ex-pats here. The staff was super friendly.

Bar du Central
99 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

While the Missus was getting ready and packing the next morning, I headed on up the street to the other bakery on the block.

And I got a croissant and two expressos to go.

The verdict; well this croissant was crisp, but not flakey, and could have used more butter and salt flavor as it was rather bland overall. We're still looking for that "perfect croissant" for us.

Le Moulin de la Vierge
64 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

A few minutes later, we were ready to go. The La Tour-Maubourg metro station was basically a half block away. From there it was off to Gare L'est, which we had been to before. So we were familiar with the lay-out. Having a bit of time before our train, we walked to the café across the street and did the "Parisian thing".

Next stop - Reims!

Paris - Arnaud Nicolas Revisited

This was our fourth visit to Paris. By this point in time we had developed a couple of rituals; places that we really enjoyed and Arnaud Nicolas was one of them.

We just love the charcuterie here. As I mentioned in my first post on the place. Arnaud Nicolas achieved the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) at the age of 24!

The place just feels comfortable and relaxed to us.

We had early reservations and there was just one other table occupied. As is the tradition here; we were given a small aperitif as we were seated. This time around; it was a nice clean and crisp Sauvignon from Thauvenay in the Loire Valley. The Missus enjoyed it, so we bought a bottle.

We placed our orders; sadly, the wonderful boudin blanc with truffle is a seasonal item and wasn't available so we ordered a risotto to go with our charcuterie.

As always the "Volailles et Foie gras de Canard", foie gras, duck, chicken and the "Caille, Poire et Pistache", quail and foie gras with pear and pistachio were excellent.

And of course our favorite is the Foie Gras mi-cuit. Wonderful balanced flavors, slightly livery balanced with a mild sweetness. The smooth creaminess makes you really feel you're having something oh-so decadent.

On this visit, I noticed that there was a traditional Fromage de Tete on the menu; head cheese. It was served with the traditional accompaniment of Sauce Gribiche, a wonderfully pungent and refreshingly sour sauce made of egg, cornichons, capers, tarragon, and the like. The Missus just loved the stuff! The texture of the head cheese was perfect, a bit of jellied toothsomeness, wonderful deep and complex beefy flavors, with a hint of tangy-sourness. This wasn't too salty and was just delici-yoso!

What wasn't delici-yoso was the risotto. I've often mentioned the "issues" I have with par cooked risotto and this one was another "strike".

Hard centers of the rice and a lack of enough "earthy" mushroom flavors made this somewhat disappointing.

Of course, the Missus had Her Rum Baba.

But I got the real award winner. I'd noticed a Whiskey on the digestif list. It was from Taiwan, from a label named Kavalan. It was also 24 Euros a pour....which, I've come to find is really not expensive.....I've seen it here for over $45 a pour!

This was wonderful; the flavors so complex, the nose full of vanilla tones.

I came to find out that this was the Gold Medal winning Kavalan Sherry Cask "Solist"!

Man was it good. It was this drink that got us started on Kavalan.

Even though we'd been to Arnaud Nicolas three times.....there always seems to be some new wrinkle, a new taste that we experience.

I guess that's why we keep coming back.

Arnaud Nicolas
46 Avenue de la Bourdonnais
75007 Paris, France

We headed back to our apartment and had a wonderful night's sleep and headed out the next morning well rested.

And while the skies were overcast, with intermittent drizzles....it was still Paris!

And a revisit to the Louvre was on the docket for the morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spring Is Finally Here - Seven Grand and Revisits to Tiger! Tiger! and Et Voila!

After what seemed like a very cold (again with the "by San Diego standards" disclaimer) and wet winter; it seems like Spring might be here. The Missus got off early from work today and since I go in at 6am; I decided to leave a bit early as well.

We headed up to North Park; parked the car, and hit up a couple of places. Two of which I've posted on numerous times....so maybe you might just want to grab your favorite beverage and hit the TV or enjoy the weather or do something else.

If not; here's the rundown with minimal verbiage.

Seven Grand:

We've been here a couple of times. The Missus loves the vibe and ambiance. Everytime we've visited; the folks here were really awesome and knew their whiskey.

Plus, they carry the Missus's favorite label, Kavalan, from, of all places Taiwan. And they do half pours....

More on how we came across Kavalan (it was in Paris!) in a future post.

Seven Grand
3054 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

We then headed up 30th Street and around the corner at ECB to.....

Tiger! Tiger!:

Of course. We decided to just get the half charcuterie board.

Which always seems to be more than enough.

Tiger! Tiger!
3025 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104 

Then further down 30th to Adams and of course....

Et Voila!:

We hadn't been here since New Year's eve. So with a Huckleberry Bourbon under my belt.

We finished up our Happy Hour with a couple of old standbys.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

Happy Friday!

Paris - Tomy & Co

We had done a good bit of walking during our first day back in Paris and I was ready for a nice meal. Luckily, I had made reservations for dinner for this evening and it was less than two blocks away from the apartment where we were staying.

But first, the Missus wanted to take a walk! Yikes.....so we headed across the Seine for a pre-dinner stroll. It was a lovely evening and the "City of Lights" was indeed that.

By the time we got to Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, I knew it was time to scurry on over to the restaurant.

After all, the place I'd made reservations at emailed me two confirmations and two reminders about dinner. They really wanted to make sure we'd keep are reservations. And with good reason; since Tomy & Co opened in the fall of 2016, it's been receiving lots of great reviews, some from food blogs I link to. Paris by Mouth ranks Tomy & Co as #1 on their list of list of favorite Modern & Creative Restaurants in Paris. The namesake of the restaurant, French-Cambodian Tomy Gousset has made quite a name for himself in Paris and now has two very popular restaurants in Paris.

I had put in the mileage on this day...…..

And was ready to eat. We arrived on time at this little eatery on Rue Surcouf, which incidentally was right up the street from a place we ate at back in the fall of 2016; Restaurant David Toutain. The place was relaxed, but very professional, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We started with a white from Monthélie in Burgundy which the Missus enjoyed.

We decided to forgo the tasting menu and ordering dessert and instead went with 3 starters and 2 mains; which worked out perfectly.

We loved the amuse bouche; a chickpea concoction that was like the best falafel you ever had in terms of flavor, crisp, yet moist, with just enough salt.

Things started off with the Beef Tongue Tartelette with fresh Burgundy Truffle.

To be perfectly honest; the wonderfully refreshing sauce gribiche and the thin slices of turnips that made this dish for us. It was beefy so the pungent and pleasantly sour-acidic tones really balanced things out. The truffle was a bit disappointing as it wasn't very fragrant, nor did it have that wonderful earthy-savory tones we love in truffle.

The Gnocchi, Guanciale, Truffle, and Parmesan Cheese was a nice balanced dish.

The gnocchi was solidly prepared, fairly light, and not overly chewy. The truffle was again very mild, living in the shadows of the Parmesan and guanciale. The zucchini really impressed us as we could still make out the flavor with all the salty-rich flavors. Great acidity and textures.

Of course we had to have the Egg, Chestnut, Bresaola, Cauliflower Puree, and Fried Onions.

The wonderfully rich egg yolk was the prize in the center of this dish. The fried onions added sweetness as did the cauliflower puree, in a mild way. Loved the greens and the salty and almost cheesy bresaola. This was a lovely dish.

The first main was the Wild Duck "Apicius", Confit Beet Root, with Honey and Date Chutney.

Since Apicius sauce/glaze was going to be used, I expected this to be on the sweet side. But the duck had been studded with fragrant, anise like coriander seed, it was crunchy and added quite a bit of oomph to the dish, giving it almost a Middle Eastern flavor. It also really toned down the gaminess of the wild duck. I'm not sure that was a good thing as I enjoy that flavor. The duck was toothsome as expected. What was not expected was how wonderful the confit beets were....they still held a light crunch; but were wonderfully sweet.

The Stuffed Hare Confit and Foie Gras in Brioche with Fresh Burgundy Truffle was a bit too much.

First off, that sauce was too thick for my liking, as before the truffle just wasn't fragrant enough. The brioche hadn't held up well and had a cardboard like texture. We really couldn't make out foie gras other than it being a bit oily. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

As I mentioned earlier; service was very professional and yet still relaxed. The folks here smiled often and made us feel very comfortable. I can understand the allure of this place; the ingredients and flavors run the gamut, it's modern, yet uses an array of techniques with products that are interesting. The dishes are well presented. We'd gladly eat here again.

Tomy & Co
22 rue Surcouf
75007 Paris, France

We headed back to the apartment, bellies full, and quite happy......

In the "City of Lights"...…..

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It's another one in the books and it was a pretty chilly (by San Diego standards) and wet one as well.

It's been a busy year for me; but I still made it out yesterday, to do, as I've done since 2005, to check out the variety of Osechi set out by our local Japanese Markets. Like I noted from back in 2017 these markets have really scaled back and these days they ask folks to put in orders. I started with Mitsuwa….which might have been a mistake as there wasn't much of anything out at 9am.

Nijiya was bustling at 915.

And I ended getting a few items there.

Marukai didn't have much at all.

The Missus wanted something different for New Years Day this year; so I didn't do quite as much shopping....at least at these places as usual.

And, just like last year, we had the New Years Eve dinner at Et Voila! We brought along a bottle of Champagne from our favorite little Champagne House in Écueil. This was our favorite while doing tastings in Champagne. It's from a very small "house"; it's literally under a house and they do not ship or sell, via normal channels in the US.

I gotta say; even though some of the dishes were quite similar to last year; I think Et Voila has stepped up their game. There were a few things we didn't care for; the pheasant was too dry and the mushroom cream sauce too sweet, but as a whole this was a very nice meal.

The Lobster Bavarois with Périgord Truffle Caviar - just plain delici-yoso!!!

Dorade and Hamachi Crudo.

Grilled Blue Prawns and Snow Crab Raviolis - prawns were very tasty but a bit over-cooked.

Seared Maine Diver Scallops - seared perfectly, super tender. The uni espuma was quite interesting.

I'm usually not a big fan of the meat and poultry at ET; but this Beef Tenderloin was perfectly cooked and almost fork tender and that shaved black truffle didn't hurt things at all.

The afore mentioned Pheasant Breast Ballotine with Chestnut Gnocchi.

And of course dessert....which the Missus enjoyed.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

As for New Years; well, no Nishime this year....instead the Missus wanted Matzo Ball Soup??? Go figure.... So on Saturday I went to Wing Lee Poultry and bought a chicken and made the soup on Sunday. Skimmed and strained on Monday, made the Matzo Balls and let it soak in the goodness, ready for today.

As for me....well, I went fairly traditional.

We here at mmm-yoso would like to send out our best wishes for a wonderful 2019!

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - Boulangerie Nelly Julien, Musée de l'Orangerie, and Canard Street

We slept a bit later than usual on our first morning in Paris. This was good since we'd be doing a bit of walking on this day. We quickly got ready and before heading off to our first stop grabbed some croissants at Boulangerie Nelly Julian which was right around the corner from our apartment.

We were kind of excited about this since Douceurs et Traditions de Nelly Julien had place in the top in the Concours du Meilleur Croissant au Beurre AOC Charentes-Poitou; basically the best butter-croissant competition in Paris over the years.

So of course it was the Croissant au Buerre we had. It was nice and buttery, great balance with salt, but we didn't enjoy the hard and not flakey exterior and the interior was on the slightly greasy and doughy side. It might have been the wrong day.

The place is indeed popular; there's always line as we noticed when passing during our stay.

Nelly Julien Douceurs et Traditions
85 rue Saint-Dominique
75007 Paris, France

It was a quite a nice and clear day as we crossed Pont Alexandre III and walked along the Seine.

We walked past Place de la Concorde and over to Musée de l'Orangerie. I had been wanting to visit this museum for a while. A whole lifetime ago; I had to take an art appreciation class. There's not much I recall about that class; well, at my age, there's not much I recall about any class…..however, I remember our instructor loved Monet's series of painting named the Water Lilies. He liken Claude Monet's situation at the time of creating this work to Beethoven writing his 9th Symphony while completely deaf. You see; by the time work was being started on this work; Monet was suffering from cataracts and going blind.

The Museum itself is small, it was created to shelter the Orange Trees of Jardin de Tuileries.

Monet's Water Lilies are displayed in two rooms on the first floor, the rooms have renovated to display this work to the specifications designed by Monet himself.

Monet takes us to his garden in Giverny during different times of the day; the light and reflections play off the natural light in the room. From the peaceful morning to the splashes of bright yellow at Sunset.

The second room features the other foliage around his pond.

You really get the amazing play of natural light when you view the works from different angles; which I found, especially with "Sunset" when returning to the first room from the second.

There's also the Walter-Guillaume Collection wich features works by Cezanne, Renior, and Picasso.

And some other quite interesting work as well; from classic, to very Modern.

We also saw school tours being done almost everywhere we went; some with children quite young in age. It was fun to watch and listen.....

From the museum; we headed across the Jardin de Tuileries over to Rue de Rivoli.

So, here's a hint about personal property security when in France. We've been here several times and have seen these folks in action. A group of girls; clipboard in hand will approach you to sign some sort of petition. You'll quickly notice that they will surround you and while you're distracted, pick your pockets, or the like. So, whenever these groups approach, I simply say, "no...thank you...." and scurry away. Our next stop was in the 3rd Arrondissement, so we walked on over to Rue Étienne Marcel, then to where it became Rue aux Ours to pick up our pocket wifi (or as the French say "weefee") device. It works real well when you have more than 3 wifi devices.

After this...well....we needed a break. We were fairly close to Rue Montorgueil, so we decided to walk over and grab some espresso....and people watch. We saw a "good dog" doing a wonderful job walking without a leash; until it came across what must be the little fellows favorite market, it was time for a sudden detour as he ran inside.

We also saw these fellows.....

A few years back after having coffee at Les Deux Magots we came across Firefighters selling "hunky" calendars for charity and bought one for a friend of the Missus. So, here we were back in Paris; it was that time of the year I guess. It was a hoot watching the firefighters flirt with all the girls and especially the older women.....most of whom ended up buying a signed calendar!

While having our caffeine fix; the Missus and I discussed lunch. I mentioned a bunch of places in the area and others a mile and change away. I had a nice list from that area since we'd be staying in the 2nd on our return trip to Paris.

I mentioned this new "chain" from Lille had just opened a shop in Paris; right on Rue des Petit Champs, named Canard Street. This is basically what they call a "Street Food" concept...think fast casual; but it ain't your typical "fast casual". The Missus sounded quite excited; even though I told Her we'd be basically staying right around the corner from the place....She just wanted it "now".

I know; it looks like any other fast casual restaurant on the street.....

But, think about the name....Canard Street....then think about the items on the menu; Foie Gras Sandwiches, Duck Confit "Burgers", Magret Tartare......

And what we got; for the nice price of 18 Euros; the simply named "Planche Canard Street".....basically a charcuterie board.

Yikes.....man, this was like I died and went to duck heaven. Actually, the items were all decent; and the foie gras terrine and the saucisson de magret were excellent. The duck rillete and Saint-Nectaire (cheese) were really good. The baguette was passable and this was a load of food.

The Missus even had a glass of wine....I got a Coke Zero.

Man, this was quite a lunch...….and you definitely got your money's worth.

Canard Street Paris
16 rue des Petits Champs
75002 Paris, France

It was time to head back to the apartment and sleep off all that duck......

Thanks for stopping by!

Paris - A Revisit to Les Cocottes

We usually have our trips planned in advance; by the time we return from one, we know where we're going two trips ahead. Thus, by the time we returned from Emilia-Romagna, we had our flights to Paris booked. From there it was just putting all the pieces together. In the end; we decided to enjoy France a bit more this time around....nothing overly fancy, just enjoy the vibe. And of course; it doesn't hurt that Paris is the Missus's favorite city by far.

The Missus still loves the 7th Arrondissement, so we decided to stay there when we arrived. We knew the area fairly well making things quite easy. Our flight didn't get in until nearly 8pm and by the time we arrived at the apartment it was almost 9. The place I picked out this time was much more spacious than on our last visit. It was farther from Avenue Bosquet and Avenue de la Bourdannaise, but we enjoy the location, it was quieter, closer to the metro, yet the Missus's favorite sight was just down the street.

Even though we had arrived late; the Missus just had to get out and take walk to across Pont Alexandre III and of course down Rue Saint-Dominique, then across the Seine for Her favorite view of the Eiffel Tower.

We hadn't expected to be hungry; we'd eaten on our flight and had a snack at the Galleries Lounge at Heathrow. But this walking had made us hungry. We did not want; however to have a huge meal. I mentioned Les Cocottes to the Missus. We'd enjoyed the nice, simple fair there before......it was, in fact, the first meal we ever had in Paris, for the same reasons.

Even though it was nearly 1030 pm, we were greeted with smiles and grabbed seats at the bar. We'd have to get our orders in quick before the kitchen closed. This was no problem as we already knew what we wanted.

I started with a Leffe and the Missus a nice glass of red.

We started with the simple country style pate. It was satisfying; not overly rich, but still substantial. A mild, pleasant liveriness, rustic in nature, just enough filler. A humble, but very pleasing dish; just what we needed.

The other dish we got was the Poached Egg with Bacon and Rocket Salad. This was even better than what we had here several years back.

The lardons had a perfect balsamic vinegar glaze; it was crunchy, yet toothsome at the same time. The egg was poached nicely, adding a rich, creaminess to the dish, and we do prefer simply dressed arugula as was the case here.

This was just what we needed; nothing too fussy or filling. The staff here was so friendly, smiling and asking us questions, and making sure we enjoyed our meal.

There was one more interesting difference from our meal here several years back; the place was filled with a mix of locals and regular tourists. The loads of Korean tourists weren't in sight. Perhaps they've moved on to their latest spot....which I think we might have run into later on.

Anyway, this was a nice; satisfying, low-keyed start to our time in France.

Les Cocottes de Christian Constant
135 rue Saint-Dominique
Paris, 75007

Thanks for reading!

Paris - Au Passage

Ever since reading (and doing a bit of cooking from), Jane Sigal's wonderful book (it more than a cookbook in my mind); Bistronomy: Recipes from the Best New Paris Bistros, I'd been wanting to try one of the places mentioned in the book. In case you're not familiar with it; think of it as "bistro + gastronomy", at its best; it is affordable food, made with excellent ingredients and technique, without over-wrought processes, in a casual environment.

After doing a bit of research; I'd managed to get reservations at Au Passage in the hip and trendy 11th Arrondissment. So, after a nice afternoon nap, we headed off....we actually walked to the 11th from our hotel in the 5th.

It was about a mile and a half from the hotel and while it was a bit of a hazy evening; it was still quite beautiful.

Located in a little side street (passage) Au Passage has a rustic, vibrant, somewhat hip, vibe to it.

The place fills up pretty quickly. The Missus partook of several of the wines by the glass; the listing is on the chalkboard.

The menu, on a single sheet of paper changes frequently....we immediately knew what we wanted to start with.....

The House Foie Gras (8€). This was well made, very smooth, quite balanced in flavor between the earthy livery flavors with a touch of sweetness. It was also quite a large portion.

Next up; "St Pierre" Sauce XO (10€). Basically, John Dory in a version of Chinese XO Sauce.

If you've ever had "matodai" at a sushi bar; you'd know what this is; a mild, lightly sweet, and tender "shiromi" (whitefish). The XO Sauce (which seemed to have quite a bit of lardon), while quite mild in terms of spice, was still overkill for the lovely and tender fish.

We particularly enjoyed the Endive Moutarde Oreille de Cochon (9€) - some really bitter and yet sweet endive, with a nice mustard based sauce and crunchy delicious fried pig ears.

The Veal Sweetbreads with a wonderful, lightly tangy, sunchoke sauce was also quite amazing.

The perfectly seasoned and cooked sweetbreads were wonderful, a light crust, gave way to a soft and creamy interior.

These Vielle Rouge; which I believe is grouper; was fine, moist, with a crisp skin.

Quite simple in prep.

The Beef was served "blue" and was on the tough side and under seasoned. The greens were quite good though.

Overall, a nice meal, quite solid, and a decent value. The service was a bit shakey as the place got busier we were kind of forgotten.

Still, it was fun trying one of these neo-bistros, the proclaimed "new wave" of bistros.

Au Passage
1 bis passage Saint Sébastien
75011 Paris, France

As we crossed the Seine, we stopped to watch the Eiffel Tower shine it's light on Notre-Dame de Paris, we stop to reflect on just how lucky we were to be able to enjoy the freedom of travel....the sights...sounds...and of course the food!

And to be in Paris......the Missus's favorite city.....

Thanks for reading!

Clearing Out the Memory Card - Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe, Et Voila, and Sushi Noguchi (Yorba Linda)

Just a quick post for tonight - 2 Happy Hour revisits and once place where not all the photos came out.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Café:

Now that the weather is getting a bit cooler, we're enjoying HH here. It's never too crowded and the food is hearty. There's always leftovers for the next day.

My previous post on Romeo & Julieta Wine Café.

Romeo & Julieta Wine Cafe
4715 Monroe Ave
San Diego, CA 92115
Hours:
Tues - Sat 4pm - 10pm
Sunday     3pm - 10pm

Et Voila!:

Honestly; we're not overly fond of many of the meat courses and entrees. But we really enjoy HH.

Even though the Huckleberry Bourbon is now nine bucks during HH....it's still a relative bargain.

Two drinks and  a couple of staples from the Happy Hour menu and we're....well, quite satisfied and happy.

Et Voilà!
3015 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116
Happy Hour:
Sun - Fri 430pm - 7pm
Saturday 430pm - 6pm

Funny story insertion time. The Missus and I were eating outside on the quaint little patio. There was a couple seated right past us.....the gentleman was really, really chatty. We usually keep to ourselves, but he was very amiable. We talked about everything from this being his first visit to Et Voila (he was pleasantly surprised - Jayne's was closed) to Japan to whatever seemed to come to mind. I told him he looked familiar; turns out it was Mike Aguirre. I laughed and said; "wow, you're famous". He smiled, shook his head and said, I'm sure in jest, "no...more like infamous." You never know who you're going to sit next to.....

Sushi Noguchi (Yorba Linda):

Yes, Yorba Linda. This one is from last year actually. I had a meeting up in the OC and the Missus decided to join me since She had a couple of days off. I'd been waffling between sushi places, so I sent off an email to the one and only Elmomonster, His vote was the tiebreaker. We chose Sushi Noguchi; which is a rather odd place....another strip mall treasure in Yorba Linda.

The Missus and I had a great time....such a great time that I missed a couple of photos and some of what I took was not usable.

I thought about trashing what I had; but the meal was very good; especially having three different uni (San Diego - Santa Barbara - Hokkaido), where we could really make out the differences in flavor - San Diego was the meatiest and the mildest, the Hokkaido uni had an amazing briney-sweetness, it tasted of the ocean, the Santa Barbara might have been the sweetest of the three. We also really enjoyed all the shiromi (white fish).

The only thing we didn't particularly care for was the yellowtail in the olive oil-soy sauce.

This was only about half of what we got; the negi toro temaki was also fantastic.

I'm not sure when or if we'll be back in the area in the future, but this one is a total winnah! I'll do a better job of documenting our meal then. And worth every penny of the $120 per person without drinks.

Sushi Noguchi
18507 Yorba Linda Blvd
Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Paris - Restaurant Alliance

We got back into Paris at around 330pm. The Paris metro system is fairly easy to navigate and we got to what I consider to be one of my favorite hotels; the Hotel Monge in the Latin Quarter by 4pm. Check-in, as always with the folks here is a breeze. Hotel rooms are fairly small in Paris and I've learned to get the Deluxe Double Room. Which at first worried me because it over-looked the street, but the windows do a good job of muffling out the noise.

We aim for one blow-out meal when visiting Paris; the first time around it was David Toutain, the last time at Sola. Because the Missus loved Sola, I tried to make reservations for a revisit; but they were closed during this time. There was something about French cuisine with Japanese touches and sensibilities that really got to us. And I think many other folks as well as there seems to be a revolution going on where Japanese Chefs are running Michelin Star level restaurants in France. After doing a bit of research; I settled on Restaurant Alliance which is located a short walk from where we were staying.

We took in the holiday season sights at Notre-Dame de Paris, before crossing back to the very discreet location of Restaurant Alliance on Rue de Poissy.

There are only 9 tables in this discreet restaurant; only one of which was filled when we arrived.

The simple décor belies the nice spacing; comfortable seating, the sound dimming qualities of the place. As for the staff; they were amazing, not obtrusive, very genial, professional, and most of all they really knew their stuff. They Missus and I got the tasting menu, with one tasting, and the Sommolier, Shawn Joyuex, one of the partners, really made the Missus happy with our pairings.

We loved the pacing on the dishes; each looking pristine, not overly done, and to the point.

Starting with the Anchovy and Tomato. This amuse was wonderful; the savory-salty anchovy perfectly balanced with the sweet-tangy-acidic tomato paste.

The Brioche with Fennel Cream doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy; but the light, mildly sweet, buttery brioche found a wonderful dancing partner, one with a rich little anise kick to keep things moving along.

One of my favorite items of the meal was the Beignet Seafood. This was basically a Karaage, a pristine, perfectly fried, perfectly seasoned, karaage, the lieks of which I'd never had before.

A lovely crunch, nice seasoning, savory-sweet, with a very mild smokey spice, and I believe there was a light touch of shio koji or something similar going on. This was just amazing.

Caviar with Champagne was fine. A bit austere, but perhaps with something like this, simpler is easier.

Uni with Kampari Foam and Sea Asparagus was another amazing dish with flavors I would have never though would have gone together well.

I'm not the biggest fan of foams; but this light, tangy-acidic-fruity foam did so well with the rich, oceany uni. Really creative combination.

The Beets with Dulse was a good dish to bring us back to earth after the uni.

The almost salty "bacon of the sea" flavor of dulse was nice in really balancing out the earthy sweetness of the beets.

When we were seated; one of the Servers came around with a glass container....as soon as he opened it the entire room was filled with the fragrance of white truffle. So, being on vacation, how could we not order it? The container would make it to every table and we'd be assaulted with the intoxicating aroma of truffle. There was a table of four across the room, one of the young men seemed to be a regular. Everyone knew him and chatted with him. When the glass container started making its way to his table; he raised both hands in surrender and said "c'est bonne...c'est bonne"!

Not the biggest fan of the pasta per se; but you could have given me shoe leather and I'd have gladly consumed it with the truffle and that perfect funghi based sauce.

The Scallops, kaffir lime, and coconut milk was a symphony of familiar flavors that worked well together.

The scallops were as to be expected in a place like Alliance. Perfectly seared, perfectly rare, perfectly sweet and mildly briny.

The wonderful buttery texture and mild sweetness of the lobster was the star of the Lobster, kumquat, and spinach, in red wine sauce.

The dish could have used a bit more tannic-bitter flavors as it approached being perhaps a bit too sweet.

The desserts? Well, that's the Missus's department. I will say that I really enjoyed the Vanilla Mousses that was served with black olives, where the saltiness of the olives just balanced out the sweetness off the vanilla. The Missus loved the chocolates with jellies in the center.

This was a wonderful meal; perhaps the best we've had in Paris thus far. The Missus is still talking about this meal; not just in terms of single dishes; but mentioning the pace, the staff, and of course, the wine!

It's going to be hard to top this one!

Alliance
5 rue de Poissy
75005 Paris, France