Birthday Trip to LA

Just a quick comment on my trip. It was entirely food. In twenty-four hours we managed to eat dim sum at Elite, shop at a nearby Asian market, eat tapas at Cobras y Matador, a midnight snack in Thai town at Ruen Pair, and a late breakfast/lunch at my old haunt, HOME in Los Feliz.

A side note: I recently read an article in Wired saying that blogs are dead and that twitter-like sites are taking over. Perhaps there should be food twitters instead of blogs. Since I never have time to blog I'm thinking I should "twitter" my food thoughts.

So here's a breakdown:

1.)Dim Sum at Elite: long wait, everything was tasty, prices on the higher end, sweeter items (BBQ Pork Bao, Almond shrimp ball and Snow Bun with Almond Flavor) were satisfying but some of the dumplings didn't have enough flavor for me (ex: the shark's fin and red clam dumpling). They were also missing a few items I love. Overall I'd go back but I missed the carts. Didn't think I would but I did. It's not better than Pearl in San Diego but it's worth the wait.

2.)Cobras y Matador: I've already been there but remembered it fondly and it was near the concert (The Black Keys!) we were attending. Service was a bit slow considering the place was nearly empty but the food was good. I think we had artichoke fritters and roasted mussels (oven dried tomatoes, saffron, wine). Now I know inflation has greatly affected restaurants but even though the food is good it's way too pricey.

3.)I did a LOT of research before this trip on where to go for Thai food since I had to have good dim sum and good Thai. Well, Ruen Pair is the place and I'm so glad we went. They serve the best papaya salad I've ever had. Truly addictive. I even ate the leftovers for breakfast. We also had tasty shrimp cakes and chicken sate which was also pretty good. The papaya salad was so good (in my opinion) that I'm still thinking about it.

4.)HOME: The neon sign (which has, sadly, changed a bit) says "There's No Place like HOME". It's true. This is still one of my favorite restaurants and it serves simple salads, sandwiches, etc. The prices are still affordable, the portions are large and easy to share, and they have great waffle fries and excellent bruchetta. I almost always get their chicken cesaer salad wrap but this time I got a different sandwich that was just as delicious. I'm sure plenty of people would say I'm exaggerating but, for me, this truly is home. Oh, they also renovated and the whole place is clean and cozy (in a good way, not a "cramped" way) instead of crumbling like it was when I first moved to LA.

While I missed LA food, I did not miss the traffic. The weekend we went it was hazy and crowded and reminds me of why I live in wine country (Santa Barbara's). Being in close proximity to good wine has made it worth it to live without some of my favorite foods. I'm just going to have to improve upon my Asian home-cooking skills and learn how to make a mean papaya salad myself. Guess I'll be stocking up everytime I find an Asian market. Until I can afford to open up my own dim sum restaurant up here, that is. Would it be weird to have a small plates restaurant witih dim sum, tapas, and Thai appetizers?

Food vacation

I haven't written in ages. My two jobs and 2-year old boy (and newly re-started singing) has kept me so busy that sometimes my head shakes in anticipation of an eruption, much like that of a volcano.

One of the main reasons I don't post as much anymore is because I have moved to an extremely expensive area (Santa Barbara county) and I can rarely afford to go anywhere to eat and I'm so busy I don't cook as often. There are a few places I would like to post about once I have photos: American Flatbread (probably one of the best restaurants in SB county); Yanagi Sushi (new in Santa Maria), Chef Rick's (one of the best chefs in the county), Suvan's Kitchen in Lompoc, China Pavillion in Santa Barbara and Montecito, and a few others.

Now, if you ask me about local wine I can tell you stories. Pretty much all I drink now is local wine. Working with winemakers is a fantastic job. Most of them have past lives unrelated to wine and they all followed their passion.

The reason I'm currently online is that I was searching the corners of the web for dim sum reviews for LA. During the short time I lived in LA I didn't have any foodie friends (fortunately I have a ton of foodie friends now who truly understand) so I never went to dim sum. Then I moved to San Diego and dragged my husband to Pearl and a few others. Pearl had excellent dim sum and a great pond out back. We also made it to San Francisco and ate at a delicious all-Chinese dim sum restaurant where I sat next to two 100-year old Chinese men and the servers spoke little to no English (my kind of place...we speak a common language..food!).

After several hours of research I have finally decided to try Elite dim sum in Monterey Park because other food bloggers took some great photos that have me salivating as I write.

If anyone disagrees with my choice please speak up quickly! I leave Sunday early morning. If all goes as planned, we will go to dim sum, go to Ranch 99 to stock up, go to a concert that night, grab some Sichuan food (depending on when the concert is over) or go to a late-night Thai restaurant, and head to the Westin Bonaventure (gotta love Priceline) where I can think about Monday's meals.

On Monday we'll have to choose between many of my favorites: Home (in Los Feliz right by where I used to live), Doughboys (near my friend's house not far from the Beverly Center), Porto's (for pastries in Glendale), and a few new places I've been wanting to try. No trips to Spago for me, thanks. I'm a working gal who eats at restaurants with working-class prices.

I have been wanting to try that macroon place in Beverly Hills, I think it is. Is it still there? LA eateries seem to come and go so quickly. Another place on my list is Breadbar. Two of my favorite words.

So, friends, if anyone in LA (or nearby) happens to fall upon this post in the next day, please send me your thoughts. Please, be nice. I know I'm a piggie and it might be a tad on the unhealthy side to eat my way through LA, but I know some of you understand.

Hopefully I will remember to bring my camera. If not, I will try to post anyway.

Wish me luck!

Sake from Space

Tonight I was researching restaurants online for a friend of mine who's living in Kochi-ken, Japan and I came across an interesting article titled "Space Sake -- Sake From Another World" (scroll down to second article on page). If anyone happens to know of some restaurants in that area that she should try--please let me know!

Enjoy!

PS. I'm hoping to start up my blog again soon from the Santa Barbara area.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

Sadly, it has been months since I have written. I have realized that it is very difficult to maintain a blog while taking care of a rambunctious [now] eight-month old boy.

Currently I am listening to my inner dialogue (between myself and myself) and trying to decide whether or not I should continue to blog. If I do continue, should I narrow my focus? That will soon be determined, my friends.

In addition to raising a child, I have had a lot of changes in my life lately. My husband and I are in the process of moving to Santa Barbara County (to the wine country, 40 minutes north of Santa Barbara) and I am studying viticulture/enology at Alan Hancock College (one cannot have too many degrees, I say). My goal is to get a degree in wine marketing and sales by the summer (with an internship this spring). I'll let you know how it goes.

I am finding that life in Santa Barbara's wine country is not easy for a city-girl like me. It's one of the most beautiful places in the country but a big culture-shock to a girl who can't imagine life without dim sum and traditional (especially Sichuan) Chinese cuisine. Fortunately they have some Thai, sushi, and one good Chinese restaurant (that I'm aware of so-far) but it's not enough for an Asian-cuisine obsessed foodie such as myself. I'm hoping there is a Pho place up there somewhere. Recently my husband and I have frequented Mr. Pho in Oceanside and can't imagine not being able to get cheap flavorful Vietnamese eats on a regular basis (and at 9pm when we realize we've almost missed dinner!).

Perhaps one day I can still write those posts about new restaurants I've found in the North County, San Diego area.

Stay tuned for possible (as I have not decided if I want to re-commit myself to the food blog world) adventures in Santa Barbara's wine country.

Travel: Southwest

Check out my post below about my recent travels (through food) in the Southwest. I had saved it as a draft a while ago so it posted on the day I saved it (oops!). It chronicles my stops in Williams, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Sedona.

Upcoming Food Events

Some upcoming food events in the San Diego area:

April 28 & 29: Encinitas Street Fair
April 28 & 29: Temecula Wine and Music Festival
May 2: 31 cent scoop night at Baskin' Robbins (benefits Firefighters Fund), 5-10pm
May 5: Cinco de Mayo (there's a festival everywhere in San Diego from Oceanside to the gaslamp!)
May 5: Rancho Days Fiesta
May 6: Carlsbad Village Faire
May 11, 12, 13: Gator by the Bay (Zydeco and Crawfish)
May 12: Beach to Brewery Beer and Music Fest
May 12: Family Chocolate Festival at the Quail Botanical Gardens
May 19 & 20: Old Town Temecula Western Days
May 20: Festa Siciliana in Little Italy
May 20: North Park Festival of the Arts
May 25-28: Strawberry Festival in Garden Grove
May 27: Ethnic Food Fair at Balboa Park's International Cottages
June 1-3: Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival
June 6-10: Cherry Valley's Cherry Festival

Carlsbad Farmer's Market: Strawberry Fest

The Carlsbad Village Farmers' Market will hold its Annual Strawberry Festival on Wednesday, April 18, 1-5pm and Saturday, April 21, 9am-1pm. The markets are held weekly in Carlsbad Village at 2930 Roosevelt Street in the Public Parking Lot between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue. The Strawberry Festival celebration will include lots of very special strawberry treats, live music and family fun!

Come for our famous homemade Strawberry Shortcake with whip cream and look for many other strawberry delights including cool Strawberry Smoothies, decadent Chocolate-covered Strawberries, or smooth Strawberry Flan. Make sure you get your fresh local strawberries and, of course, you can also shop for an abundance of other fresh produce, flowers and many fabulous foods and crafts.

The Carlsbad Garden Club will again attend the festival. These “green thumbed gals” will have plants and tools for sale and will be on hand to share their gardening tips. All proceeds from the Club's sales go to a scholarship for a Mira Costa College horticultural student. Call 760-434-2553 or 760-687-6453 for more information.

Travel: Southwest (AZ and NM)

Williams, AZ (near Grand Canyon): Pine Country Restaurant

If you're going to the Grand Canyon then you know the main towns nearby are Williams or Flagstaff. We stayed in Williams on our way to the Canyon on our trip from California to New Mexico. The most appealing restaurant near our motel was the Pine Country Restaurant.


As you can tell from the recipes I cook, I'm not really into American food. Especially not country food. However, I know a lot of people love some good country cookin'. This restaurant is THE place to go for some American home-style food. The prices are incredible. My mom ordered a 2 pork chop meal for only $8.99 (including sides). She said the chops were cooked perfectly. They also specialize in pies. We took home a slice of apple pie for breakfast and it was still really good that next morning. The service was great in the restaurant as well. I didn't even mind the picnic-style tables because they were new-ish and clean. Just remember that you need to arrive early because there are a TON of tourists eating there who just came from or are headed to the Grand Canyon.








The reason for our trip was to check out some property that my Grandpa owns near Albuquerque that he's never seen. Strange, I know. So my mom and I thought it would be an adventure to take a road trip to see exactly what my Grandpa got himself into. Before we checked out the property we had to pick up some paperwork in a nearby town called Belen. This is the biggest town in the area and it was soooo tiny. There was no where to eat in that area except for a few chains that I was not interested in trying. Apparently Blake's Lottaburger is a big chain in that part of New Mexico. They also had a Teriyaki Chicken in Foil. Needless to say, Belen was not my kind of town and I chose to wait until dinner to eat.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: Flying Star Cafe

After at least an hour of roaming the city for a place to eat that didn't smell bad and wasn't touristy, my mom and I came across the college district. The best tip for travellers is to find the university area for cheap and often times, tasty eats. We debated between a pizza and Mexican place but decided to eat at the Flying Star Cafe where they had a diverse menu.

In the front of the restaurant is a bakery with cake, pies, pastries, bagels, and the biggest cream puffs you've ever seen. We were tempted but only got 2 almond croissants and a cookie for the next day (the croissants were dried out the next day but the cookie was decent).

Fortunately the meals were delicious. Everything is homemade and fresh. My mom ordered fish and chips that were surprisingly great. The fish was crisp but not dry, the fries tasty, and the coleslaw just right. My turkey panini-style sandwich came with green chiles (I had to get something with a southwest flair) and turkey cut straight off the roast. It was almost too rich, the turkey was that good. The potato salad on the side was also made just right (old fashioned, chunky, without too much mayo and it had a lot of fresh veggies in it). I loved the meals so much that I wish we had another day in Albuquerque just so I could go there. Everything was really affordable, too.



I learned from our trip that when you have trouble finding good eats in an unfamiliar town, look for the college area and you're sure to find something good. If we hadn't found the Nob Hill area we might have been out of luck. Albuquerque is not exactly a foodie town. I actually found the city to be fairly dismal. To each his own, I suppose.

Baby Killian at Flying Star Cafe

One of Albuquerque's eateries that we chose not to try.

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Blue Corn Cafe





Our experience in Santa Fe was similar to our experience in Albuquerque but for a different reason. Santa Fe is a wonderful town with beautiful architechture and a lot to do (and eat!). However, it appeared that many of the restaurants in the museum area were located upstairs or were too fancy. This is a problem when you have a four-month old. It's also a problem when it's snowing and you didn't pack for cold weather (so you look kind of disheveled).


Again we spent hours looking for a place to eat. Finally we managed to get the stroller upstairs (not as easy as it sounds with my chubby baby) so we could eat at the Blue Corn Cafe. They seemed to have some local meals to sample which was my goal for our trip.


Our chips and guacamole appetizer was perfect. The blue corn chips were my favorite and it came with salsa (made exactly the way I like it). I love chips that are super thin, crispy, and made fresh. I hadn't had chips that good in a while. Usually when we go to a Mexican restaurant I don't like the chips or the salsa (one or the other).


I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with a honey chipotle glaze and carmelized onions. Normally I'm hesitant about ordering chicken sandwiches because restaurants tend to dry out the chicken. This sandwich was fantastic. I'm determined to recreate their glaze at home.


My mom had one of their Mexican combos which was very good and perfect for the chilly day (it snowed while we ate). Her rootbeer was great, too. Apparently they make their own. It has a great home brewed flavor and was barely carbonated which we both liked better because it gave you more room to eat!

On our way back to Albuquerque from Santa Fe we wanted to stop by the Whole Foods we saw but missed it so we stopped at a natural grocery store instead. It was one of the most impressive natural food stores I've been to. They had all sorts of nuts, grains, homeopathic supplies, etc. By the register they had some sweet empanadas that we bought for our trip. My mom had the cherry one and I had an apple. They were made by a bakery called Chocolate Maven that I will definitely go to if I ever return to Santa Fe. These sweet empanadas were some of the best pastries I've ever had. Not only that but they couldn't have been that fresh. It was evening when we bought them and we didn't eat them until the next day!

I just checked Chocolate Maven's website (see link above) and they have been featured on the food network by Giada De Laurentiis. I would love to check out their cafe as well during my next visit.

Sedona, AZ: El Rincon Restaurante Mexicano and NY Bagels & Deli

My visit to Sedona was way too short. We were there for dinner and briefly for breakfast (but we stayed in Cottonwood). It has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to (even compared to Yosemite). No wonder it's a huge tourist spot.

As always, I was starved (my mom doesn't ever seem to "need" to eat) and desperate for some good southwest food. We settled on El Rincon restaurante because it was nearby and had good reviews. I'm not sure who reviewed this place, though. The chips and salsa were okay but not great. My mom's sweet tamale and beef taco were pretty good (she thought it was the lightest tamale she's ever had). I had half her taco and while it was good, I've had better in California. My shrimp taco was the grossest meal I've received at a restaurant in a long time. The shrimp looked like they had been boiled and the shredded cheddar didn't go at all. I've had a lot of good shrimp tacos and I really didn't think they could be butchered this badly. I was wrong. It was so gross I couldn't even eat it. Fortunately we had ordered a side of Navajo fry bread (I had only had it at a friends house and never at a restaurant so we had to try it before we got back to Cali). The bread was pretty good but I remembered it tasting better at my friend's house.

So if you stick to the tamales and tacos (and possibly Enchiladas which they seem to specialize in) then you'll be fine. However, if you're picky like me then don't even bother going there. Sedona has many other fine restaurants to choose from.

The next morning we were supposed to get on the road back to CA but we had to drive through Sedona one last time for the view and to pick up breakfast. Since we didn't have time to stop at a restaurant we went to a NY deli and bakery (called New York Bagels & Deli) figuring it would do. It didn't just "do"...it rocked! The bagels were perfect, the hoagies divine, the Elephant Ears/Palmiers the best I've ever had, and the cookies were as well. I still wish I had ordered one of their eclairs. The best part is that it was all cheaper than a deli in NY (or LA for that matter). The prices didn't match the excellent taste.

I love it when you find a great NY deli in the desert. That happened to me once in Palm Springs. I guess it's because a lot of New Yorkers tend to retire where it's warm, like the southwest or Florida.

**

So if you happen to be driving across the Southwest I recommend you plan your stops ahead of time. There aren't a lot of places to eat along the 40 (unless you like chains). Usually I plan ahead and the one time I didn't made travelling difficult for me. Hopefully my experience can help at least one other person. If you're going to or through Albuquerque, Santa Fe, or Sedona you now have at least one place where you can eat!