Merced River Hike

This past Saturday we headed up toward Yosemite to a hike we had read about along the Merced River about 15 miles past the town of Mariposa on Highway 140.  After a slow drive down a 1-lane, dusty road and across a 1-lane wooden bridge, we came to the trail's beginning.  Apparently this trail involves a fitness test as we needed to pass through a narrow opening in order to cross one last bridge along a private road before reaching the trail itself.

The trail runs along the Merced River and is the old bed of the railroad that brought early visitors to Yosemite National Park from the town of Merced through the town of El Portal. Along the opposite bank of the river we could see old, rusted pieces of curved metal and wooden braces that provided a chute or pipeline of some sort at one time.

It was a beautiful fall day in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

All that fresh air and hiking made us very hungry so we stopped at a great restaurant in Mariposa, The Gold Coin, which is housed in Mariposa's oldest building.  The town was really hopping due (we think) to the opening of Santa's Bazaar at the small, local hospital.  It's a fun, quaint little goldrush town (and home to the Mariposa Gazette, the oldest weekly newspaper of continuous publication in California) that now serves as a great stop for food and shopping on the way in or out of Yosemite.  Quite a few UC Merced folks have chosen to live in or near Mariposa and make the daily trek to Merced by car or commuter bus.

Local Food

This week there was some good news, bad news, and neutral news related to local food in Merced.  The bad news involved the announcement of the closing of the Merced Organic Store.  Unfortunately this store was not able to overcome the loss of revenue caused by the massive summer construction project downtown that closed off the nearest street and made access difficult.  While I do not eat much prepared food, organic or not, it was nice to have them in town and I did stop by every other week or so to buy staples and snacks.  Honestly, I feel a bit of nostalgia for the place since I sought it out when I first visited Merced for my interview at the UC.  They gave me a coupon that I saved in case I got the job and I used it the week after we moved in.  I am sad to see them close, but am not entirely surprised as I was often the only shopper on the days I stopped in.

The good news is that Merced now has a great bakery called Little Pink Boxes that just opened on Main Street.  I am excited to try their croissants and other pastries and can vouch for the deliciousness of their cookies as I brought a dozen to a work meeting on Thursday.  They will be open late on the weekends and early on weekdays, so will accommodate everyone's schedule making it difficult to pass them up. Last week also saw the opening of a new hot dog specialty restaurant owned and operated by three graduates of UC Merced.  While friends and colleagues are initially underwhelmed by the selection, in spite of the locally sourced meats being served, we all hope to see improvements as the business grows.  In a town of 80,000 with high unemployment, local food and businesses take on great importance and many of us try our best to give them our support.

The place that never lets us down, of course, is the Merced Farmers Market.  A salon appointment had me shopping at the Modesto market last weekend (and I particularly appreciated the local cheddar and portobellos) but this morning Sean and I once again hit our favorite stands in Merced.  Along with the second week of persimmons, this week brought locally grown kiwi fruit.  The farmer told me to wait 2 weeks for them to be fully ripe unless I am willing to place them in a bag with an apple to speed up the process.  Since Central Valley apples are nowhere near as delicious as the Minnesota grown variety I am used to (I miss those fabulous U of M creations, with Honeycrisp still the hands down favorite) I have no problem sacrificing one of the Fujis I picked up last week at the Modesto market.

Another reliable favorite that has appeared in this blog before is Houa Khong Laotian/Thai restaurant.  We've been back a number of times with guests and they all love it as much as we do.  Last night we dined with our friends Nora and John and it was finally chilly enough (sort of) for me to try their version of Pho.  It was fabulous!  I am so happy to have found my spot for that delicious noodle soup.  As an added bonus, on the way out Nora found the homemade specialty cookies they sell to go and bought us each a bag.  They are made with coconut milk and are very fancy and delicious.  Served with a scoop of Ben & Jerry's vanilla, this cookie was better than any waffle cone I have ever had.

Visitor from Home and Agua Fresca

When we told friends and family we were moving to California they assured us they would visit when work or other travel brought them to the area.  The trouble is, work doesn't really bring a person to Merced.  But it might just bring them near Merced.  Case in point, my friend Mao whose good friend lives in Sacramento. She awesomely drove down Highway 99 to visit this evening.  We gave her a tour of campus, had dinner at Houa Khong, and purchased delicious aguas frescas at La Super Michoacana Paleteria & Neveria.  The owner gave us samples of rose petal, tequila, and strawberry/cinnamon ice creams.  So fabulously freshly made and delicious!  It is one of our favorite places in Merced and will be one spot we take all visitors.  Then we walked down Main Street for the Market on Main where there were fantastic farmers, bakers, and others selling treats and gifts.

We passed by Merced's Multicultural Arts Center, which was saved from closing by generous, creative donations from the community, and Mao told us about the symbolism in the tiles on the side of the building, so we had to pose for a picture.  What a fun visit from a good friend!  More visitors from home are welcome anytime!

Market on Main
Thursdays from 6-9 pm, August 3-October 13

La Super Michocana Palateria & Neveria
http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-super-michoacana-merced
661 16th Street, Merced, CA

Yang's and De Angelo's

Sean drives me to work a few days a week so he can have the car to get to his chiropractor (R. Bryant Owens at Holistic Xchange - great guy).  This afternoon he surprised me by stopping at Yang's Produce beforehand to pick up some strawberries, saving us the trip on our way home.  We stop at Yang's, a farmstand on McKee Road at least 1-2 times per week to stock up on fruits and vegetables in season.  They have the best heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes I have honestly ever tasted.  So fabulous in a caprese salad!  The family that owns the stand and raises the produce are friendly and kind.  Sean never used to like strawberries, but this spring when we moved here I would bring home 3 baskets after work and then receive a text from him the next day requesting that I stop and pick up more because he had eaten them all.  The summer strawberries are great, but we are already looking forward to next year's spring harvest because they are the sweetest little red strawberries in the world.

My friend Heather, who started the same day I did at UC Merced as the university's Director of Alumni Affairs, had the splendid idea of inviting a group of folks out to dinner at De Angelo's this evening after work.  It was so great to meet others who work in different parts of the university.  There was a fun mix of people from Merced and other parts of California, and some from out of state.  The food was good and the company was great.  We plan to make our meetings a regular occurrence.

The names of these two establishments also highlight one of the things I really love about the Merced area.  Though the city's population is only 80,000, there is such a great racial and ethnic mix.  The food and cultural celebrations are two ways we have already celebrated this wonderful variety.

Yang's Produce Stand
McKee Rd. and Alexander Ave., Merced

De Angelo's Restaurant
2000 E Child Avenue, Merced

Houa Khong Restaurant

As if the editors not only personalized their magazine but also predicted my future, this month's issue of Saveur magazine featured an article on the food of the San Joaquin Valley, "the most productive agricultural region in the world".  Featured in the article was a small, "bare-bones" Laotian restaurant called Houa Khong.  We ventured there this evening with some friends from UC Merced.

Having come from the Twin Cities, which has the largest population of people of Hmong descent in the United States, I have developed a taste for Southeast Asian cuisine.  Merced County has the highest concentration of people of Hmong descent in the U.S., and I hoped this demographic fact would equate to tasty restaurants.  So far, the Southeast Asian restaurants of Merced have not disappointed.

The chicken larb was flavorful and the Thai-style papaya salad was perfectly spicy and reminded me of a trip to Hmong Town in St. Paul I took with my friend Mao last winter.  Deliciously crunchy and cool.  Perfect for the hot valley weather.

While paying my share of the bill at the register I chatted with our waiter who imparted his culinary knowledge of the subtle differences among the Southeast Asian cuisines as well as the Laotian names for the Thai and Vietnamese dishes I was familiar with from St. Paul.  When I inquired whether he was aware that the restaurant had been featured in a national magazine, he asked whether I had written the article.  I sadly told him I had not, but promised to bring him a copy of the article which he plans to hang on the wall.

What Merced restaurants may lack in trendiness, they definitely make up for in pride and personal attention.  Hearing this young man's pride in his family's business and lament over loss of business due to the relocation of the hospital and major construction on the main road leading to the restaurant made me want to spread the word about this gem of a place.

Houa Khong Restaurant
85 East Street, Merced
209-722-5541