One Year Later....

And, like a thief in the night, we have returned to Claremont.

We are usually on vacation at the beginning of August, and apparently many of our friends are, too. We have been home for a little over a week and have seen some friends here and there, one or two a day. It's a stealth reentry.

As a note to self for our next sabbatical return: it takes about a week to get the house in order and to get back into the right time zone. Even if the house is perfectly clean (and it was pretty clean this time), we still have to find all our boxes and unpack and then realize that we still should have thrown away many things before we left. The march to Goodwill continues.

For the second year in a row we celebrated our anniversary in Claremont with dinner and a movie. This year we saw Shaun the Sheep and then had dinner at the new Sanamluang Cafe on Indian Hill. While the food was delicious and plentiful, the decor very nice, the experience left much to be desired. The bill came while we were still eating, and when I was still putting food into the takeout box, they tried to remove my plate. The acoustics are bad, so it was very loud inside, even though it was not full. I will try it again for the food, but perhaps I will try to slow down the service.

Pupusas

Last full day in So Cal. Had to eat Mexican food. Well, actually not Mexican, but Salvadoran. On Sunday we heard a spot on NPR about Salpicon in Ontario which serves pupusas. We have enjoyed, many times, the pupusas at Guaselmex in Pomona, but thought we ought to give another place a try.

The food was very good, and we will probably go back sometime - when we're back in So Cal!

Tonight we hand off the car to its new owner and tomorrow we hand off our home to new tenants. 

It's really happening!

See you later, Claremont. Have a great year!

Elvira's Grill

Gotta eat as much Mexican food as we can before we head to Zürich! Yesterday found us trying out a new (to us) restaurant in Upland called Elvira's Grill. It's on the north side of Foothill just east of Euclid. Most of the Mexican restaurants I like lack a pleasing ambiance, but I never mind that. Elvira's is quite pleasant with waitstaff very professionally dressed with good service.

I like to try mole whenever it's on the menu, and Elvira's had it with their chicken enchiladas. This is the most chocolatey flavored mole I've had - almost as sweet as a candy bar, but not quite. The chips were hot and fresh and kept coming, and the salsa had lots of flavor. Both H and C had the enchilada and chile relleno plate. We took home enough leftovers to have dinner.

The Junction

Just because we are going on sabbatical doesn't mean we can't try out new restaurants in Claremont before we go. In fact, in the weeks before our last sabbatical the new Village West was just opening up and we went to the Laemmle and Casablanca before we headed to Chicago.

Yesterday, on the advice of two different friends, we tried The Junction on Indian Hill just north of the tracks. The location is not ideal, but if you park on the east side of the parking garage, it's easy to enter through the back. 

We thought we might get take-out, but the interior was enticing, so we opted to eat in. We had the spicy pork Korean tacos, the Kimchi Quesadilla Wrap and the Potstickers. I did not try the Kimchi, but H liked it and brought half of it home. The tacos were delicious and devoured. The potstickers are unlike any I've ever had, and were fabulous. You can see pictures of the food on the yelp site.

I hope this place is still here when we get back......

Miscellaneous Day

L and C are visiting, so we've been out and about. Here are a few shots from yesterdays doings.

Coffee at Coffee Klatch in Rancho

Bumper sticker seen while returning old modem to Time Warner

Looking at the photo from CHS class of 2003 at Patty's

Birthday Dinner

How to choose where to celebrate C's birthday dinner.

1. Ask C where she wants to go.

2. C says, "I'll tell you when I wake up in the morning."

3. Keep asking throughout the day. Still no decision.

4. Walk downtown.

5. Try to have hoppy hour at Eureka! Burger, but bar is full.

6. Walk back into the Village and head towards Back Abbey.

7. Find a nice table and enjoy dinner outside.

Beach Birthday

Second year in a row that my birthday fell on a weekend. A lovely June weekend. With temps promised in the low 100s (which never materialized), I thought that an escape to the beach would be the best way to relax with H, C and B. These days we tend to head toward Laguna and try out any beach where we can find parking.

While on the road, we decided to stop off at 85C for sea salt coffee and then yelped where we could find Mexican take-out in Laguna. Papa's Tacos came highly recommended, and that's where we ended up. The proprietor/chef/server was very friendly and when I told him it was my birthday, he threw in a bag of chips with some salsa. We took our food and ended up at Aliso Beach. The parking lot was full when we drove through, but I spotted a street space across the busy PCH which was still there after we rounded back. Luckily there is a tunnel under the highway for pedestrians.

We enjoyed people-watching while we ate our burritos, which we ranked very highly. Then we read a little, chatted and near the end of our stay we watched a pod of dolphins frolicking in the waves. That was certainly a highlight. 

Back home, after showers and a little phone chat with L, C treated us to a homemade peach and almond cake with vanilla ice cream. 

A most excellent way to celebrate.

Ordering at Papa's Tacos.

Food Trucks for Lunch

We have seen one or two food trucks outside of LACMA before, but this was our first time there during the work week, and we counted nine trucks lining Wilshire. After perusing the options, we split up and H bought lunch at the Thai truck and I got a falafel sandwich at the Kabob Express. 

While waiting for my food, four people dressed in Honda blue polos (you know the ads on tv), came around offering people hand sanitizer and a small tissue pack. When people took one and said "thank you," the Honda people said, "It's our job to be helpful."

This woman was actively hawking her truck's wares, taking orders on her iPad and touting the fact that their truck had a gourmet chef and had been featured on CBS. Maybe next time, Street Kings.

Memorial Day Weekend with the Folks

Last year on Memorial Day weekend, I was with my family of origin (my folks and my sister) on our pilgrimage to Pawnee Rock, Kansas. This year my parents came to Claremont from Colorado for the holiday weekend. 

We enjoyed a variety of activities from touring the new building at HMC, eating some of C and B's excellent food, wandering the Farmer's Market, as well as the folks seeing some of their friends who live here.

We had thought about going to the LA County Arboretum on Monday, but with temps in the 90s, we opted for the air-conditioning of the Laemmle. We chose the movie Chef, and I thought it was a great movie for just fun. It's the story of Roy Choi, the guy who owns the Kogi BBQ trucks (of which I have blogged on numerous occasions). So, for me, it had lots to recommend it. I like stories which feature something I know about firsthand. I like movies with good music. And the food looked great and made me hungry.

So after the movie we had to go out to eat. Of course. We tried to go to Cafe Allegro in La Verne, but it was closed, so we called Pasta Cucina Rustica on Foothill and they were open. Not only were they open, we were the only people there for a long time. Perhaps we were the only people who did not grill out on Memorial Day.

I had some penne pasta from the Over 60 menu. That meant a smaller portion. I thought the sauce was very good. H thought his eggplant not as good as the Thai eggplant from Saturday's lunch at Thai Family. We may or may not go back sometime. 

Thai Family

On my friend Kevin's recommendation, we tried out the Thai Family restaurant in Upland for lunch today. It's in the strip mall just north of the Home Depot on Mountain. It's next to Fresh & Easy and the Dollar Tree. We took our food to go and even out of the styrofoam containers, it was delicious. I had the vegetable curry. H had the spicy eggplant. The lunch special includes a little (very small) salad, two fried wontons plus your choice of entrees, including rice.       We will be back.

Temecula

In April we renewed our friendship with Lynne and Dick who live in Carlsbad. The easiest way to get together with them is to find a middle-ground place to meet, and food is in the picture.  Last time we met in a Dim Sum restaurant.  Because they know their food, we took them up on their Indian restaurant recommendation in  Temecula. Before we headed to the restaurant, though, we had to stop at the Temecula Olive Oil Company where we had a 15-minute olive oil and vinegars tasting. 

All these years here, and driving up and down the 15 on numerous occasions, and I'd never stopped in Temecula. We enjoyed walking up and down the cute street with shops and restaurants, and lots of loud people before we headed to Mantra Indian Cuisine. I ordered the vegetarian meal which comes with two curries, a samosa, rice, naan. All for $13. That was enough food for me to enjoy the next day for lunch, and I have to say that is some of the very best Indian food I've eaten. The best palak paneer. 

Looking on the website, I see that there is a location in Corona, so we may have to try that one out.

Signs Along the Way

In celebration of orchestra rehearsals being over for the year, we went to the Kogi truck in Diamond Bar for our favorite Korean BBQ this week. Along the way I saw these two signs. The first says that the Sanamluang Thai restaurant will be moving to the old Baker's Square location on Indian Hill and San Jose. HMC Thai students have said that this is the most authentic Thai food in the area. Right now it is below the 10 Freeway on Indian Hill and San Bernardino.

This sign says "Serious Drought. Help Save Water." Yes.

Congregation Ale House

When my sister arrived two weeks ago, we wandered downtown Claremont to give her a choice of dinner places, and she thought that Eureka! Burger had a great vibe, so we chose that place.

Now that she has finished up her two-week class in Pasadena, I looked on yelp to try to find a dinner place in Pasadena with a good vibe. I chose a variety of words to search, but decided that if beer or craft beer were search terms, maybe I'd find a good place. That lead me to Congregation Ale House, so we tried it out. It looked very busy when we arrived, but we found a parking spot in the lot (not always easy to find parking in Pasadena, let alone free parking). Turns out you order at the counter and then sit roadhouse-style (long tables that you share with complete strangers) to eat. We chose to eat outside since it wasn't too, too cold (a blanket over the lap from the car's trunk was helpful) and it was a little quieter.

They have 32 beers on tap, including Double Dude from our own Claremont Craft Ales, but we chose an Oregonian Porter that was smooth and delicious like our favorite Pomona Queen. The food was delicious - all of it. I had a Grilled Portabello Cap Salad, which I shared with H who shared his chicken and parmesan sausage and sweet potato fries with me. My sister had a pizza and house salad, both also delicious.

We will definitely return. We might even try the one in Azusa next.

International Festival

I don't remember when I went to CMC's International Festival last, but today's perfect weather was a great excuse to walk through the goings-on.  At the Festival one can peruse items to buy, from books and other treasures to a great variety of foods from all over the world. The lines at Thailand were very long. One can also sit a spell and listen to storytelling or watch dancers, or try your hand at crafts. 

Claremont is hoppin' today, and among the other offerings was Nano Days at the library. You can read about last year's Nano Days here.

85 C - More!

After our filling Dim Sum lunch, I wondered how far away the Irvine 85 C Bakery and Cafe might be where we could have a little dessert and/or sea salt coffee. Much to my delight, I discovered that while I was not looking, 85 C has opened up a total of 9 stores in the southland. I remember my excitement of finding out that one had opened up in Hacienda Heights and then another one in West Covina. Yesterday we went to the one in Garden Grove which is just a mile away from Sea Food Paradise.

Sea Food Paradise

When our daughter went off to college, she thought we would enjoy meeting her friend's parents, so she made a point of introducing us (first via the internet and IM - remember IM?). Then we officially met them when they were visiting So Cal. At that time they were living in Kansas City, but now they live in Carlsbad, which is not too very far from here. In December they were taking their son to Rancho Cucamonga and Claremont was on their way, so we reconnected for the first time since our daughters' graduation in 2007.

We decided to get together again, this time to meet somewhere between Carlsbad and Claremont, and they suggested their favorite Dim Sum restaurant in Westminster. We had not had Dim Sum in quite a while, and as soon as we sat down and saw the amazing amounts of diversity rolling around on the carts, H immediately said that he wanted to return, and very soon. The food was excellent, and it was worth the 40-minute drive. Apparently, Sunday is the best, and busiest day to go. The selection is greater and the food fresher. We arrived by 10:45, so we were seated immediately. The bottom picture shows a little bit about how big the place is.

Inka Trails

Many years ago we ate at Inka Trails, but we didn't really understand the food. After all, we had never had french fries and rice together in a main dish. Then we went to Peru and had lomo saltado (a  stir-fry with sirloin strips, onions, tomatoes and potatoes / french fries over rice). Upon returning home from Peru, we thought we ought to give the restaurant another try.

I ordered the lomo saltado and H had the quinoa con queso. He's been looking for the kind of creamy quinoa he had at the buffet at Machu Picchu, and this one was pretty good, but not exactly the same.  I thought the food pretty good, even if a little salty. Now, if Inka Trials would serve pisco sours, we would return more often.

Vegan Spaghetti Squash and Black Bean Mexican Bowl

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile, and last night we made this one for the second time. It's a keeper, so I thought I would share. If the word vegan makes you turn away, don't. It tastes really, really good and fills you up.

You can find the recipe at Kalyn's Kitchen website which has a plethora of low-glycemic recipes. I've made a handful of the recipes, and have bookmarked a number of others that I am ready to try.

This is the recipe that made me buy a bottle of Green Tabasco sauce (which is not too hot).

Daughter Date

Today was a shopping date with daughter C. Once in awhile we look at each other and say, "we need to go shopping!" For us, that means Ontario Mills. Today we realized that we are getting this down to a science. First we head to Coffee Klatch in Ontario which opens up before the mall. Then we know the secret route to the mall from there and can find the entrance closest to the Gap. After I'm done with the Gap and C needs to continue, I head off to the Banana Republic factory store and we meet up when we are finished.

Next we have to decide whether we want to go to Victoria Gardens, but whether or not we go there, we must stop for lunch. Usually it's Gandolfo's, but today I had a hankering for a hamburger, and I had not yet been to Five Guys, so that's where we ended up. I have to say, it was a delicious burger, and I was glad I took the advice to get the small one (regular-person-sized) with everything. Also, a small fries is good for two people.

A plus was that there was a Target in the same center, so we didn't have to maneuver through the parking lot to get to the Target at the Colonies in Upland to pick up just a few small necessities.

New Year's Revolution

You might be enjoying the commercials where the guy is talking to four kids who say the darndest things. In the most recent ad (seen here) the kid says that his new year's revolution [sic] is to eat more jelly beans.

I'm not big into resolutions anymore. Maybe I never was, but on my walk this morning I was thinking that I am so over taking pictures of food. The food is going to have to be awfully special for me to take photos of it. I think I will now go back through my 2012 photos and remove all those food pictures.