Old Town Temecula the new foodie Mecca (Part I)

Sometimes you live near places you do not  know anything about. Like Old Town Temecula, when was the last time you (locals) spent some time in this lovely old-time street?

Do you know that over there, you can find the finest local olive oils, French crepes, teas, spices, fudges and many more?

Those who know me well, know that I am really curious by nature. Travel and Food are my truly passions. I am in a eternal quest for small, unique boutiques and stores. … and  great food. And living in So-Cal where big retailer chains, huge anchors are everywhere can be a challenge for someone like me.

So when I found out that we were living in an area where there is a Farmer’s Market (with grass-fed beef, fresh goat cheese, free-range fresh eggs…), local olive oils, spices… I could not help and wanted to spread the word during my Cooking Classes or through my Blog.

Then I decided to step outside my cooking kitchen one more time (once a month I also tour  with my students our local Farmer’s Market followed by an Organic cooking class), to share with my friends and students some great Gourmet local places!

I decided to conduct a Walking and Tasting tour in Old Town Temecula, because I have some much to share with you!

As an intimate group, we gathered through the Front Street. Truly and real foodies-Gourmet  like Myha, Connie, Jessica, and Wendy joined this tour and it was fantastic. Tia,    Tia Black Photography a  professional Photographer and friend documented this formidable event ( she  was the one who took all the pictures during the Romantic Dinner for 2 cooking class in February). Even some young kids had great time during the tour and it was a pleasure  watching them sharing crepes with their mothers.

Thank you all for coming, it was a pleasure to conduct the tour for you and with you.

First we stopped at Temecula Olive Oil Company’s store a local ranch and family business that produces its own olive oil. This is one of the prettiest store in town. From the outside, to the beautiful décor inside, this is a gorgeous place. Once you enter you feel like you are in Provence or Italy. In the back of the boutique there is a tasting room. A display of different cups were awaiting for us. We tasted about 8 different Local olive oils and vinegars. Each one was so tasty. With each tasting we learned about each oil/ vinegar, the production, and how to  pair it.

Then we were ready for more tasting. We stopped at Café Daniel a lovely European style café with the best savory and sweet French Crepes in town. They serve also Italian Gelato, Panini, soup, salad. Johnny (the owner) received us with plenty of attention and humor. He told us about his  background as a Patry Chef. He worked  and was trained by the best famous French Pastry Chefs ( Joel Robuchon Restaurant in Las Vegas)…

He offered us to eat a myriad of sweet French crepes from the simple lemon/ sugar one to the crème patissiere with fresh strawberries. It was such an incredible treat and moment. Johnny was coming to us with more and more crepes every five minutes. Of course we loved it.

Then after savoring all our crepes we walked down to the Spice Merchants another truly and unique little store in old town. Sue, the owner was a delight to be with, she made us feel at home in her amazing little boutique. The décor is quite unique with all the spices, teas, blends colorful jars. We tasted the most amazing Truffle salt, pink Himalayan rock salt to shave, and had a great Italian blend with oil and bread, the perfect dip!

Then it was time to finish our tour on our way we stopped at Sweet Shop another cute store with a huge selection of candies, fudges  and chocolates made at the store. Of course the kids were very happy, but the adults too, Believe me!

A big Thank You to all the vendors, stores owners who received us with so much attention and share with us their passion. It was the first tour of the sort, I will be back with more tours soon.

Where:

Temecula Olive Oil Company
28653 Old Town Front Street Temecula
CA 92590
Tel (951) 693 0607

Cafe Daniel
28601 Old Town Front Street Temecula
CA 92590
Tel (951) 676 8408

Old Town Spice Merchants
41925 Fifth Street # 101
Temecula, CA 92590
Tel (951) 587 2223

Old Town Sweet Shop
28545 Old Town Front St
Suite 101
Temecula CA 92590
Tel (951) 693 – 1919

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