National Taco Day 2011

I just heard that today is National Taco Day! Wow…who knew? I mean, I consider myself somewhat of an expert on the subject of tacos and I have never heard of this wondrous day. But, now that I have, you can bet your sweet ass our family will be celebrating National Taco Day 2011 in high style tonight!

Yep, we might even bypass our usual Taco Tuesday fiesta at Del Taco and go somewhere a little more authentically Mexican…you know, where they sell real street tacos like the lovelies pictured below. Yum!

But wherever we end up tonight, here’s hoping the rest of you find time to celebrate the magic of a truly tasty taco on this happiest of days as well. Happy National Taco Day, amigos!

Voodoo Doughnut, Portland, OR

There are two reasons I’ve put off blogging about the now-legendary Voodoo Doughnut in Portland for so long. One is because, well, they are kind of legendary now and it seems like everyone blogs about them. And two is because I knew the minute I started writing about them, I’d want to eat donuts (or doughnuts, whatever!). And guess what I’m craving right now…Voodoo’s finest, the Maple Bacon bar. Mmm…

I know it’s been covered on TV and everything, but, trust me, there is a reason this delicious maple bar topped with two thick-ass strips of crispy bacon is famous. And that’s because it is seriously, out-of-this-world amazing. You never had such yumminess in your mouth at the same time…wow!

Another favorite were the various cereal-covered donuts. We sampled the Captain Crunch, which was a bit odd. The cereal itself was kinda moist, from being exposed to the air I suppose, but the thing that really made the donut work for me was the fact that the white icing tasted exactly like milk. Yep, you got it, milk and cereal on a donut. I don’t know how they did it, but it worked.

Also very good was the devil’s food cake donut with the pentagram frosting, but for sheer drama, I think my favorite donut of the day was the one shaped like a tiny Voodoo doll. Covered in chocolate frosting, each little Voodoo man has a tiny pretzel stake jammed into his heart and actually bleeds red berry filling when you remove the stake. So weird and awesome!!

The decor is also totally rad, with all sorts of funky Voodoo, pop-culture and movie references everywhere you look. I don’t know the significance of the giant velvet Kenny Roger’s portrait over the register area, but, it seemed to be important. And, hey, who doesn’t love, Kenny?

Oh, speaking of old-ass Kenny Rogers, they even had a shrine to recently departed celebrities by the rear side door, complete with Voodoo donuts prayer candles. As you can see from the pic, Peter Falk had just died when we were there. R.I.P. Detective Columbo.

Oh, and if you’re really hungry, an order of three dozen donuts and $100 will buy you a tiny wooden casket donut delivery box. I didn’t get one, but, man alive, if I lived in Portland, that would be the first thing I’d order for my next big birthday party gathering. Donuts in a coffin for everyone…so cool!

“Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” starts tomorrow on ABC

OK, I know it’s a whole day away, but, we are so excited about the season two premiere of “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” tomorrow night on ABC that we just had to blog about it today…er, well…tonight. In any case, now you have a full day’s notice to set your Tivo’s!

And, trust me, you’re gonna wanna them set for this. Because, from the trailers we’ve seen, Tivo-worthy is the name of the game this season on “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution”. I mean, seriously, if you thought those mean old lunch ladies in West Virginia were hard core, just wait till you see Jamie facing off with the shriveled old coots on the L.A. Unified Board of Education. Yikes!

Yep, you read that correctly, this season’s “Food Revolution” is set right here in sunny SoCal, or at least it was until Jamie and company had their permits pulled mid-shoot. The Board also banned “Food Revolution” camera crews from shooting at all public school campuses in Los Angeles to boot! See, I told you this season would be juicy!

So, set your Tivo’s, whip up a healthy snack and tuck on in, because “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” is taking flight tomorrow on ABC!

Oscar Nominee Luncheon (2011)

OK, I’ll totally admit it…aside from actually attending the Cannes Film Festival, one of my dreams is to attend the Academy’s annual Oscar Nominee Luncheon. And, I ain’t picky, I don’t need to attend as a nominee. No way. Hell..I’d wait tables or, you know, make lattes for them if it got me in the door!

I mean…check out these pics and tell me this does not look like the coolest event of the entire award season. No pressure to win, no live-television audience, just all the free food, drink and movie star snapshots you can stomach. So awesome!

Oooo, hey, come to think of it, I made scads of lattes for Ms. Bening when I worked at Peet’s, so, who knows…maybe she’ll give me a recommendation for next year. Either way, sign me up!

Williams-Sonoma “Star Wars” kitchen collection on sale!

I have been waiting for the chance to blog about the super-cool “Star Wars” Collection at Williams-Sonoma for a while now. But, every time I wanted to write about it, something came up, and then, when I heard that the entire collection of cookie cutters, pancake molds, sandwich molds, aprons and spatulas was on sale for 20% off through Sunday 01/23, well, I knew the time had come.

Released a little over a year ago, every piece in the “Star Wars” collection was personally approved by Mr. Lucas himself. And, from the looks of it, the dude likes to eat, so, I’m thinking he knows what he likes in his kitchen gear. And, hello, it’s made by Williams-Sonoma, so, you know this shit is gonna last forever.

We started our collection with the “Star Wars Heroes and Villains Pancake Molds”, and, though the  details on Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper’s masks run together a bit when they cook, as you can see from our pics, the Yoda head pancake looks freaking awesome on the plate.

We also have both sets of the cookie cutters — which work beautifully and look amazing either frosted or un-frosted — the Darth Vader spatula and the “Galactic Empire Cupcake Decorating Kit”, which is like, my childhood fantasy come to life. So cool! Where were you when I was ten, Williams-Sonoma?!

Anyway, whichever side you chose to align yourself with — as you can tell, we lean towards the dark side in this household — the “Star Wars” collection at Williams-Sonoma is a must for any true fan. To paraphrase Obi Wan: “These definitely are the kitchen gadgets you’re looking for! And they NEVER go on sale!” So, get shopping already!

Oh yeah, and make sure and pick up one of those handy Williams-Sonoma Pancake Pens too. They make pouring the batter into the molds easy as pie and they open at both ends, so, clean-up is a dream!

Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream @ Baskin Robbins

If you consider yourself a true lover of ice cream, you will stop reading this right now and immediately drive yourself to your local Baskin Robbins. Seriously, I’ve had some great cake ice creams in the past, but this one, well, let’s just say it takes the cake. Pun completely intended!

Rich, creamy, cake-y to the max, the Red Velvet Cake ice cream at 31-Flavors is so good that I don’t know why I even bothered with a second scoop of my usual favorite Chocolate Fudge. I shoulda just got two scoops of Red Velvet Cake, and you know what? Next time I go, I will!

But if you’re interested in this amazingness, you gotta act fast because Red Velvet Cake ice cream is the flavor of the month for December, and, in just a few short days, December will be over. Forever. So, check it out while you can, and in case you’re wondering…that white, creamy stuff swirled throughout the scoop is frosting and it is AH-MAZING!

I’m not kidding, the flavor profile for this rocking ice cream is so subtle and lovely, you’d swear you wear eating a vastly more expensive cone.

This is Christmas for your mouth, amigos…so, start celebrating today!

Denny’s 2010 Holiday Slam Menu

Ah, man…just when we thought we couldn’t love Denny’s any more than we already do, they go and get all deliciously-seasonal on us!

That’s right, amigos, for a limited time only, the house of Denny’s is offering a Holiday Slam Menu featuring such mouth-wateringly-good concoctions as cranberry-orange pancakes, gingerbread french toast and peppermint chocolate cocoa and milkshakes! Mmhmm, top that, IHOP!

But as tasty as all that stuff is, the crowning glory of the new Holiday Slam Menu has gotta be the Holiday Turkey Melt: turkey, stuffing and Swiss cheese served on potato bread with a healthy dollop of cranberry honey mustard and a side of gravy for dipping. I think Christine said it all when she described this heavenly sandwich as: “The best part of Thanksgiving“.

Hmmm…for me, the best part of Thanksgiving has always been the loving communion with cherished friends and family, but, if Christine says it’s all about the food, well, who am I to argue?

Either way, this spectacular sandwich tastes like the best Thanksgiving leftover sandwich you ever had. Seriously, it’s kinda magical. But, it won’t be around for long, so, check it out while you can. Yum!

Chicken in the shell…

My Grandma Cecilia, who tends to favor her meat very well done, used to refer to her hopelessly-burnt BBQ chicken as “chicken in the shell”. And man alive, was that shit tasty…all that crispy, blackened chicken skin (or “shell”) just sliding off that juicy-ass meat into a river of BBQ sauce. Delicious!

Last night’s 2010 spin on “chicken in the shell”? Not so much…

I think the pictures speak for themselves, but, all I can say is make sure you take your packaged Costco rotisserie chicken out of the oven before you turn it on to roast your brussel sprouts. Yikes…

The Return of Mother’s Cookies!

The cookie circuit was abuzz with rumors that something like this might be happening back in May, but after buying our first bag of frosted circus animal cookies recently, Christine and I can now tell you with all certainty that despite closing their doors back in October, our beloved Mother’s Cookies have returned to grocery store shelves everywhere! Hooray!

Apparently timed to coincide with Mother’s Day 2009, the crumbling cookie dynasty — sorry, I couldn’t resist — was brought back to life by the very cool folks at the century-old Kellogg Company.

In fact, their Senior VP of Marketing and Innovation, U.S. Snacks (what a title!) Doug VanDeVelde had this to say about the triumphant return of Mother’s Cookies: “We’re thrilled to bring back a classic, beloved brand that calls to mind such strong feelings of nostalgia and happy childhood memories that parents want to pass down to their children.”

Damn straight, Doug! That is exactly what we wanted to do with those tasty cookies and now that they’re back, our little girl will get to grow up loving Mother’s Cookies as much as we did. So, welcome back to all of our favorite, crazy-sugary, store-bought friends…we missed you more than you’ll ever know!

Long live Mother’s Cookies!

UPDATE: 31-Cent Scoop Night @ Baskin Robbins (2009)

OK, I don’t know if it was the cold weather or this crazy Swine Flu mania, but for some reason, there was virtually no line to speak of at this year’s 31-Cent Scoop Night at our local Baskin Robbins. And we went to the “good” Baskin Robbins on Victory this time too. Crazy, huh?

All I know is that the smaller crowds made it that much easier for myself and our friend Mike to sneak back inside for round two while his wife Patty and our other friend Elyse waited outside with Christine and Greta. Yee-haw!

Oh yeah, and this year, the scoops were way bigger than last time too…so, thank you, Baskin Robbins for another awesome adventure in cheap ice cream. You guys seriously rock!

UPDATE: Free Grand Slam Day at Denny’s!

I hope you all took advantage of Denny’s gift to America yesterday and got yourself a free Grand Slam Breakfast, but for those of you who missed out, never fear, because…as always…I took plenty of pictures!

It all started at 10AM when my friends Mike and Patty and I met up in the parking lot at the new Denny’s near the Burbank airport and found ourselves a place in line. Yes, there was a line, and it was long as hell, but hey, the food was free and the crowd was in a great mood…so, we had fun.

I think we waited in line for about half an hour — a small price to pay for free grub at the what I consider the best Denny’s in L.A. County — but once we got a table, our piping-hot food was up and ready quicker than you can say: “a side of hash browns for 99cents”. Seriously, the service was fast, man.

And while I’ve heard some grumblings from haters who didn’t think the line was worth the wait, I gotta tell ya from years of experience, free food events are not about the wait or the food…they are all about the experience.

And in today’s cruel economic climate, I can’t think of a better experience than a rocking free breakfast with America…so, thank you, Denny’s!

Free Grand Slam Day @ Denny’s!

Hopefully, you guys will read this in time to take advantage of this sweet-ass offer…but today only, February 3rd, from 6AM to 2PM, the kind folks at Denny’s are giving away free Grand Slam breakfasts! Yep, I said free…as in, all you gotta buy is your coffee. Pretty cool, huh?

I’m sure this killer offer is not news to anyone who watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, but seeing as Christine and I were otherwise engaged (and just now finished watching the Bowl commercials on Tivo) we just heard about the Denny’s deal of the decade last night.

And in case you were wondering, I did read the fine print on the website, and unless you live in the town of Baker, California or Las Cruces, New Mexico, the Grand Slams will be free at every single Denny’s in the United States. AND from what I’ve read on a couple of other sites, you can add another two items to your breakfast for only 99cents each. If that’s true, then…wow, I’ll stay there all day.

Ooo, speaking of…if I go to bed right now, I can squeeze in a good five hours of sleep before my free breakfast. Later…

L.A. Loncheros Community Forum

First off, sorry for being away for so long. Our friend Ginger was in town this weekend and we kept ourselves way busier than usual with tons of totally blogworthy adventures. And while I am chomping at the bit to blog about them, have been way too busy to even post our pictures to Flickr yet, much less blog (or sleep!), so, it might take a couple of days to get back up to speed. Sorry!

In the meantime, while Christine and I sleep off our “staycation” hangovers, wanted to alert los locals about a super cool Taco Truck Community Forum that is taking place this Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Organized by La Asociación de Loncheros L.A. Familia Unida de California — I know, talk about a mouthful! — the event is geared towards updating the taco truck community and their many fans about recent developments in the ever evolving Taco Truck War of 2008.

And while all that sounds kinda cool, the big selling point for this street taco fanatic is located in the fine print at the bottom of the flyer…FREE FOOD! As you all know by now, nothing gets my fat ass out of the house faster than the promise of free food, and free taco truck food…hell, I’m thinking about camping out tonight to score a good place in line!

Thanks to our compadre Aaron Sonderleiter at Saveourtacotrucks.org for the heads up on this rocking event. Call the number on the flyer above for more info and if, by chance, you happen to grab a place in line ahead of me, I am totally cutting in line to stand with you when we get there. You know, if that’s cool with you and everything…

Either way, que viva los taco trucks!

Mother’s Cookies bites the dust…

I know it’s been a while since our last post, and while I could make excuses for why we haven’t written, or where we’ve been, the biggest reason for the lag in posts is that we’ve been in serious cookie mourning, amigos.

Yep, you read the title correctly, Mother’s Cookies, that sugar-coated staple of our grade school lunches has baked their last frosted circus animal cookie.

Apparently Mother’s has been through four different owners in recent years and has been seriously hemorrhaging cash for decades, but still, this is a company that has been in business for 92 years…you’d think some cookie-loving CEO would save them.

Sadly, that was not to be, and so, Mother’s Cookies abruptly closed their doors last week…forever. Christine and I were so shocked by the news that we hurried over to Von’s to see if they had any Mother’s Cookies left. Luckily for us, they did. And although we didn’t buy the store out on that visit, we just might head back in a couple days to stock up.

Christine was bummed that she couldn’t find a whole bag of her favorite Mother’s Cookies — the pink and white frosted circus animal cookies, above — but she was more than happy to pick them out of the Cookie Parade grab bag we found. And she was even more excited to find a big, beautiful sleeve of the Iced Oatmeal cookies from her childhood just waiting for her on the top shelf. Yum!

Personally, my favorite Mother’s Cookies were the plain old Mini Chocolate Chips. They weren’t as good as homemade chocolate chip cookies, but they were cheap and yummy and you could fit like, twenty of those little bitches in a plastic sandwich baggy…so, needless to say, I kinda loved them.

I think we’re most sad to know that our unborn child will never get to experience the totally processed joy of Mother’s Cookies for themselves. I’m not kidding, we were so distraught that we actually looked for bags with expiration dates of like, two years from now, but they didn’t exist. Every bag we found at Von’s expires sometime around mid-January of next year.

And seeing as there will be no more Mother’s cookies delivered after today (the 20th of October) I guess that’s the end of the line…cookie-wise.

So, for now, we’ll just have to settle for the pictures above and the warm, fuzzy memories of simpler times spent sharing Mother’s Cookies with friends in the school cafeteria. Ha, who am I kidding, I never shared my cookies with anyone.

Either way, vaya con díos, Mother’s…we’ll miss you!

Kara’s Cupcakes, San Francisco

Some folks swear by Sprinkles, and Yummy Cupcakes in Burbank is always great in a pinch, but our favorite cupcakes on God’s green earth come from the crazy good Kara’s Cupcakes in San Francisco.

Christine and I first discovered Kara’s while making our regular pilgrimage to Ghirardelli Square to buy some of their yummy Ghirardelli Drinking Chocolate.

If you haven’t tried this stuff, then you have not had truly incredible hot cocoa, amigos. It’s delicious…and since we first tried it a couple years back, Ghirardelli Drinking Chocolate has become one of the staples of our kitchen: salsa, eggs, tortillas, and Drinking Chocolate. Not necessarily in that order…but, I digress. Back to the cupcakes!

Kara’s has two locations in San Francisco, the one mentioned above at Ghirardelli Square and another storefront in the city’s happening Marina District just off of Chesnut Street. And though we usually frequent the one at Ghirardelli just out of convenience, I gotta say that the Kara’s in the Marina has a much bigger menu to choose from.

And what a menu it is! Even the most basic-sounding cupcake here is out-of-this-world incredible, but we have two favorites that actually start me drooling just thinking about them. Christine’s favorite is Kara’s dark chocolate Fleur de Sel, which is basically a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, ganache frosting and fleur de sel sprinkled on top.

I’m not kidding, that cupcake is the most perfect union of chocolate and sea salt outside of those dreamy little morsels we had at Todos Santos in Santa Fe. Just incredible! And best of all, it travels well. You know, in case I pick one up for her while she’s busy shopping the Gift Show downtown.

But my favorite is, and always will be, the outrageously-good Banana Caramel. Now, I know not everyone loves bananas like I do, but wow…this banana cupcake with caramel filling and silky cream cheese frosting will change your life, baby! I have never had a cupcake as good as that one…and trust me, I’ve had a lot of cupcakes in my life, yo. This one is cupcake heaven!

Also good are the Coconut and Kara’s Karrot cupcakes, but if you only have time (or money!) for one $3.25 cupcake, I’d say go with the Fleur de Sel or the Banana Caramel. And if you are a true lover of cupcakes, then you have to stop what you’re doing right now and head on up to Kara’s…seriously, you’ll die!

Oh yeah, and I just saw on their website that they recently opened another Kara’s in Palo Alto…so, that’s even less of a drive from L.A.! Yay!

Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor: Breast Milk Swirl?

Just when we thought those lovable nuts at PETA (People for the Ethical Treament of Animals) couldn’t get any weirder, they sent a letter this week to Ben & Jerry’s urging them to replace cow’s milk with human breast milk in all of their ice cream flavors. Yep…I said breast milk, as in, from a nursing mother.

Still don’t believe me? Read the letter for yourself here.

Crazy, huh? I don’t know what kind of breast milk business plan PETA has in mind, but my guess is that this is one flavor even those crazy hippies from Vermont will take a big old pass on.

However, if they do elect to make the switch from cow’s to sweet mother’s milk, I imagine a few thousand of the intimidating-looking breast pumps above will come in mighty handy at the old ice cream factory.

As for me, I think I’ll stick with the Cake Batter Ice Cream for now…

Zona Rosa: best burritos on the planet!

If you haven’t eaten yet, I suggest you grab yourself a power bar or something, because these here pictures are gonna make you drool like a hungry baby. Or, well, maybe that’s just me…

Either way, allow me to introduce you to my favorite burrito place on the planet…San Francisco, California’s legendary Zona Rosa.

Located at the grungy tail-end of the city’s storied Haight-Ashbury district, Zona Rosa has been serving up bad-ass Mexican food for as long as I can remember. And, seeing as Christine and I have been eating there since 1990, well, wow…that’s a long-ass time, yo.

I don’t remember which one of our roommates first stumbled upon this wondrous place, but I discovered Zona Rosa in college, while living in a rundown flat full of crazies — seriously, we had six roommates and a cat at one point! — just a few blocks away on Fell Street.

Rolling out of bed, all hung over and groggy, and walking up to Zona on a Sunday morning in our sweats was more than just a mere weekend ritual for us…hell, Zona Rosa was our church, baby! And we rarely missed a chance to worship their tasty grub…even on school nights.

And, best of all, because it was the Haight, you could walk into that place in your flip flops and boxers if you wanted to. In fact, many people still do. And, yes, for the record, I did go to Zona Rosa in my boxers several times — before Christine came along and made me wear, you know, pants and stuff — but hey, they looked like shorts, so, no big.

But the extremely lax dress code is just the tip of the iceberg at Zona Rosa, because almost everything on their menu is fantastic. And though it’s not traditional Mexican food by any means, there is something kinda Cali-Mexi-authentic going on here with the flavors that is just amazing.

Let’s start with the beans, Christine favors the black beans, but for me, a Zona Rosa burrito is all about the pintos. I don’t know what they do those things, but they rock…HARD! Couple the beans with that fluffy orange Mexican rice and you’re already halfway to heaven, amigos.

The meat selection is vast: steak, pork, chicken, carnitas, saucy, dry, you name it, they have it. But my favorite will always be the grilled carne asada-style steak. Toss in some cheese, fresh salsa, guacamole and a little bit of sour cream, roll that shit up in a big, fat flour tortilla and you are good to go!

And don’t ignore those free chips either. Sure, they can be overcooked and a tad hard sometimes, but they practically melt in your mouth when smothered with the spicy green and red salsa they have at the tables. I kid you not, amigos, the food here is crazy-magical…you’ll die!

And though my friend Ginger probably gets sick of driving Christine and I all the way out to the Haight from our hotel downtown when we visit the City — as she did in July on our way to visit Master Yoda — I know that somewhere, deep down, Ginger’s a fan too. I think…

Either way, if you’re ever in the city, you gotta make time and room in your stomach for some Zona Rosa. As one of my most-loathed former roommates used to say: “Once a Zona Rosa addict, always a Zona Rosa addict.” And though that wanker has, thankfully, long since faded from our circle of friends, he could not have been more right about Zona…I will love this place till I die!

And I kinda mean that literally as I have already instructed Christine to toss a Zona Rosa Super Burrito in my coffin at my funeral. Yep, it’s that good!

Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor: Cake Batter Ice Cream!

I know it’s been a while since we posted anything new in our “eat” category — I guess you could say the steady diet of McCain campaign lies has been keeping us both pretty full up! — but lest you think we’d stopped blogging about food entirely, here is a new ice cream flavor for the ages, amigos!

As you know, we loves us some ice cream, and though I remain a steadfast Baskin Robbins devotee, Ben & Jerry’s has been churning out some pretty rocking new flavors this year, and their 30th Anniversary Cake Batter Ice Cream is another home run from the hippies in Vermont!

The concept here is very simple: yellow cake ice cream with chocolate frosting swirled in for good measure. Baskin Robbins had a similar flavor a couple years back with actual chunks of cake in the mix, but this is much less, well…lumpy.

It tastes exactly like that first wonderful beater you mom let you lick clean when she was making your cake as a kid, except, you know…colder!

And the addition of the chocolate frosting swirl gives the whole thing a warm and fuzzy birthday cake flavor that will leave you jonesing to lick the frosting off the freshly-blown-out candles. Seriously, the memories will flow with every bite.

And though I was tempted to eat this shit on a beater, I think a spoon is much more practical in the long run…

Here’s to another 30 years of Ben & Jerry’s deliciousness!

UPDATE: Southern Style Chicken Biscuit @ McDonald’s…with honey!

After carefully considering everyone’s advice on the subject, I did finally try improving upon perfection yesterday by adding some honey to my Southern Style Chicken Biscuit @ McDonald’s. And let me tell ya, it was amazing!

Since I wasn’t sure if my local McDonald’s would have honey on hand for the experiment, I brought my own in a tiny plastic container that Christine picked up at The Container Store.

Now, I gotta admit that when Christine bought these little containers a few weeks back, I kinda gave her a hard time about them: “What could we possibly need those for?” Well, now I know what we needed them for…those little guys are the perfect vehicle for transporting my honey to McDonald’s! Yeah! So, I am happy to admit I was totally wrong about your containers, sweetie. Sorry…

Anyway, yesterday morning, while the guys at the register stared and laughed — I try to pretend I’m not a breakfast regular now, but I think they’re on to me — I whipped out my ghetto-ass container of honey and my camera and got to work.

And though it is kind of crazy messy — I had honey everywhere when I left, including the steering wheel of the car and mysteriously, my cell phone! — I gotta tell you, the addition of honey to the mix is pretty damn spectacular! I shit you not, amigos, this is heaven on a biscuit. You gotta try it…

I should also mention that they are now playing cool Stax-style Southern Soul at my McDonald’s in the morning too. Man, they are really selling the Southern experience hard right now…and I, for one, am truly loving it. Yee-haw!

The Taco Truck war escalates!

Well, it’s official…the L.A. County Board of Supervisor’s war with our beloved taco trucks has claimed it’s first victim. And while the circumstances surrounding the citation are a bit odd — the chickenshit pendejo who called in the complaint used the name of the owner of the truck when he called! — the outcome is downright chilling.

The L.A. County Sheriff cited the owner of La Flor de Sahuayo, Alejandro Valdovino, with a misdemeanor violation of the new ordinance. That is the maximum penalty allowed by law, and if you ask me, that’s just plain loco!

So, to drum up support for the cause and encourage all of those taco-loving folks out there who have not yet signed the petition, to do so, our friends at saveourtacotrucks.com have started selling t-shirts! Yeah!

Emblazoned with the catchy: “Carne Asada is not a Crime” on the back and the words: “Salva Las Trocas” on the front, the shirts have apparently been selling like, well…taco truck tacos. So, get yourself a shirt at the website and sign the petition while you’re there, or better yet, cut out the middle man altogether and forward your thoughts directly to your County Supervisors at the links below.

And no, you don’t have to be from Los Angeles to bitch these folks out, you just have to love yourself some tasty street tacos!

Thanks to the movement’s rocking man of the hour, Aaron Sonderleiter, for forwarding me this information via e-mail and, as always, que viva las trocas!

District 1
Gloria Molina
(213) 974-4111
molina@bos.lacounty.gov

District 2
Yvone Burke
(213) 974-2222
seconddistrict@burke.lacounty.gov
This seat is still up for grabs after Tuesday’s election, so Burke may or may not get your e-mail…but, what the hell, send it anyway!

District 3
Zev Yaroslavsky
(213) 974-3333
zev@bos.lacounty.gov

District 4
Don Knabe
(213) 974-4444
don@lacbos.org

District 5
Michael D. Antonovich
(213) 974-5555
FifthDistrict@lacbos.org

Southern Style Chicken Breakfast Biscuit @ McDonald’s

Even casual readers have probably noticed that Christine and I are anything but food snobs. And while we totally enjoy eating and making high-end food stuff, we also have a deep, abiding love for some tasty low-end food fare as well.

So, when I heard the steady stream of cheesy, borderline offensive radio ads for the new Southern Style Chicken Biscuit and Sandwich at McDonald’s, I figured I had to try that shit out! Not because the ads were so Uncle Remus-offensive, but because the food those “po’ Southern folks” were shilling sounded so damn good.

And, man alive, was it ever! I have not tried the lunch version yet, but, I kid you not, the Southern Style Chicken Biscuit is the best thing to happen to McDonald’s breakfasts since the Egg McMuffin. Seriously, this thing is amazing!

Fans of the Southern fast food staple Chick-fil-A will probably say that Ronald McDonald — who I just found out was co-created by NBC’s resident hambone, Willard Scott! — simply stole their idea.

And while that might be true, I gotta say…that scary-ass clown has also greatly improved upon Chick-fil-A’s concept in the process. Sorry, Tar Heels, but it’s true…the clown has trumped your beloved Chick-fil-A again!

Deceptively simple, the breakfast biscuit is literally just a super moist, insanely flavorful wedge of fried chicken plopped onto a piping hot biscuit. When I asked the chick at the counter what else was on it, she shrugged and said: “I dunno, maybe a little butter.” Nice answer. But a quick check under the hood of my biscuit proved her to be correct.

My only complaint is that there is not enough butter on that tasty breakfast creation. I know, like I need the extra butter, right? But, in this case, you kinda do. It’s not too dry or anything, but I think more butter or perhaps a little side of dipping gravy would really jazz the whole thing up.

So, until I sample the lunch menu chicken sandwich — which, like the original one at Chick-fil-A, comes with pickles on the bun — see y’all at the drive thru.

Actually, I kinda hate the drive thru. If you really wanna find me, look for me enjoying my biscuit and morning paper with the rest of the blue-haired mall walkers and homeless people in the restaurant.

That’s right, I’m loving it…Que viva McDonald’s!

Downtown L.A.’s “Ciudad”

On their very cool website, Ciudad invites one and all to “experience the bold and seductive flavors of the Latin World” and last night, we took them up on it!

Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Ciudad is the brainchild of world-renowned Chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger and though a little pricier than their fare at the similarly-themed Border Grill in Santa Monica and Las Vegas, Ciudad is worth every penny you pay. Seriously…it’s kind of magical.

Although Christine has eaten at Ciudad a number of times over the years — her workplace, downtown’s Central Library is practically across the street from the restaurant — I had only been there on one other occasion, but the memory of that meal has stayed with me ever since.

So after enjoying the sunset from the rooftop bar of The Standard nearby, we hiked on over to Ciudad for a late dinner with some of Christine’s co-workers. And seeing as the late night happy hour at Ciudad had begun just minutes before we walked in — incredibly enough, they have house mojitos, sangria and a number of other rocking good cocktails for only $4 a pop from 9-11 on Friday nights! — we could not have planned it better!

The only hitch to the late night happy hour is that you have to enjoy your drinks literally at the bar and cannot move to your table until after you’ve settled your tab. Fine by us! So we drank ourselves silly at the bar, settled the tab and stumbled to our table around 10-ish.

And the food? Wow…word’s cannot do this place justice. Fusing delicious new and classic authentic dishes from Spain, Mexico, South America, Central America, Cuba and even Portugal, the menu is almost as rich, colorful and varied as the crazy hip decor and art work inside.

We started with some incredible tapas-style dishes. And though the Peruvian Ceviche with plantain chips and Argentine Empandas (with wild mushroom, warm chipotle sauce and swiss chard!) were fantastic, I gotta say that my favorite of the three appetizers we shared was the Fried Spanish Brie. Dios mio, that stuff melted in your mouth…it was incredible.

And this from a man who is not a huge fan of the Brie…don’t get me wrong, I love me some soft cheeses, but Brie has never been my favorite. Until now!

And dinner was even more amazing! Not only were the hip, mid-century dishes super groovy to look at, but the plating of this food was out of this world. Beautiful culinary art on every plate…just gorgeous!

I had the slow-roasted Niman Ranch Carnitas with mashed yuca, organic black beans, fried plantains and grilled corn salsa. Wow, even just typing those words is making me drool. It was probably the best carnitas I’ve ever had anywhere…and that mashed yuca is something I wanna make at home, like, every night. I loved it!

Christine had a huge crusted pork chop from the “Specials” menu that not only tasted like heaven, but rivaled the Brontosaurus bone on “The Flintsones” in heft. That thing was enormous!

And that lovely pork chop was not alone in the size department, because, unlike other hipster haunts downtown, the portions at Ciudad are authentically gigantic. That’s right, they don’t eat dainty in any of the countries listed above, so why should we do it here? Sí se puede, indeed!

I don’t have any pictures to back this all up of course — Christine forbid me to photograph my food in front of her work friends — but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you that even the heartiest eaters out there will not leave this joint hungry. It’s just not possible…

So next time you find yourself downtown on a Friday night between 9-11PM — gotta hit that happy hour, I mean, come on, regular-priced Supremo Mojitos are $15! — check out Ciudad! Sure, it might cost you and arm and a leg, but I swear to God, the food you eat here will flash before your eyes when you die.

Yep, it’s that good!

Bean’s Roasted Beets & Beet Greens Salad w/Feta

Farmer’s Daughter Bean here again, and this time, I made something really good…hooray!

So, after my sunken cupcake debacle yesterday, I was a bit worried about trying out another new recipe, but I had picked up some really beautiful beets at the Farmer’s Market by my work and didn’t want them to go to waste. So after finally selling Tom on the idea of a roasted beet salad for lunch, I got to work…

First off, I should mention that I’ve never cooked beets before. But after scouring the internet for recipes, I cherry picked my favorite elements from each and then hoped for the best. And thankfully, my second experimental dish of the day turned out to be one of the tastiest things I’ve made in a long time.

And the healthy factor is kind of through the roof with this meal as beets — although not technically a “super food” — are amazingly good for you. I highly recommend them!

Now, the recipe below is a little time consuming, but, trust me, it’s not a lot of work and the pay off is amazing. My skeptical husband Tom liked it so much, he even had seconds! So, happy cooking!

First, roast the beets at 400º F. I used 2 bunches and cut any that were larger than a golf ball in half or quarters. You can peel them before or after they’ve roasted, but I’ve found it’s easier to peel them after. Plus, that way they retain all that juicy beet skin flavor.

Cover them with foil and cook for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes. When they are done cooking, peel them with a paring knife and cut into smaller pieces.

For the greens, cut or tear into 2 inch pieces, then thoroughly wash and dry (they can be a little wet). Mince 2 cloves of garlic and slice 2 – 3 green onions. In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the greens and some salt & pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes or until tender.

Combine the beets and the greens in a bowl and add more salt and pepper to taste. Finish it off with 1 tbsp each of balsamic vinegar & olive oil and then toss to combine. Plate and then crumble some feta over the top and serve. Delicious!

Serving sizes can vary, but this recipe above served the two of us for lunch. If it was a side dish, it would probably be enough for 4 people. Anyway, let me know if you try it and, as always…happy eating!

Cafe Pasqual’s & The Shed

While we tried tons of super cool restaurants in Santa Fe, these two were, hands down, our favorites of the bunch. And, trust me, with the caliber of kick-ass food being what it is in Santa Fe, that is really saying something.

Probably best known for their spectacular mole sauce, Cafe Pasqual’s has been one of the premiere destinations for gourmet Old Mexican and New Mexican dishes alike for the past 28 years. And while the prices are a bit higher than some of the other places in town and the lines are known to stretch down Don Gasper Avenue at all hours, once you’ve eaten at Cafe Pasqual’s, it all makes sense.

Ginger and I had an early lunch there one day where I sampled that legendary mole sauce on some of the finest chicken enchiladas I have ever tasted anywhere…including Mexico. The mole was dark as night, awesomely spicy and best of all, not too chocolate-y. I was in heaven…

The next time I went was with Christine for dinner and once again, the food was downright dazzling. I had some of the tastiest skewered filet mignon I’ve ever had and the bright green cilantro rice on the side was crazy good. In fact, we were so impressed with the food that we actually bought the newest of the two Cafe Pasqual Cookbooks they had for sale up front.

I should also note that I learned later from our friends James and Amy that if you ask nicely, the chef will add a fried egg on top of any of the dishes on the menu for the low, low price of $1.00. I don’t know that I necessarily needed the egg, but hey, I’ve done stranger things for a dollar…so, maybe next time!

But while we both loved Cafe Pasqual’s, The Shed is the place we’ll dream about in the years to come…huge thanks to Christine’s co-worker, “Santa Fe Sarah” for recommending it to us, you rock! Located in a cool little hacienda dating to 1692, The Shed has been serving some of the finest, Spanish, Pueblo, and New Mexican food known to man since 1953.

Housed inside the thick adobe walls of the hacienda, the dining area is spread out across a series of small, brightly colored rooms linked by narrow doorways and halls adorned with some of the coolest art in town. The place actually felt more like someone’s house than a restaurant, and with little round fire places up front and an intimate, low-ceilinged feel throughout, you could have sworn you were eating in Yoda’s pad on Degobah. And yes, that is a good thing.

And the food…my God. Amazing! Christine ordered the Chicken Enchilada Verde which is made with traditional New Mexican blue corn tortillas and bathed in a roasted green chile sauce that will leave you begging for more. Literally! I went back two days after she left and ordered the exact same thing…and it was even better the second time.

The other thing we really dug about The Shed was the garlic bread. Instead of chips and salsa — which you can still order separately if you like — every entree is served with this amazing, piping-hot basket of French Garlic Bread. I know it sounds kinda weird, but when you’re sopping up that spicy green chile sauce, that bread is exactly what you wanna have on hand. Whew…awesome!

And for desert, you gotta try the mocha cake. I’m not kidding, I actually woke up a couple of times craving that thing. Probably one of the best coffee-infused, chocolate mouse cakes I’ve ever had. If you like chocolate…you will die!

Anyway, like I said before, there were plenty of killer dining spots in town, but these two…wow…if you ever find yourself in Santa Fe, don’t miss them.