sku's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Looking for Tres Leches cake
Liborio Market makes a good one. I think there is one in the Huntington Park/Bell area.
Chowhound Post
The Best Breakfast Sandwich
The Stand in Encino used to have a great one, with egg, sausage and hash browns, but I think they may no longer be open for breakfast. If it's still on the menu, I would definitely recommend it.
Chowhound Post
Hollywood Farmer's Market 2009 - What to get
I think the link you posted is still pretty up to date. There is a new chili place that is pretty good. I also really like the salsas from Vera's.
My favorite bread stand has always been the LA Bread stand, and now that thye are Village Bakery & Cafe, they have the pastries from there. Yesterday I got one of the excellent maple bacon scones along with an olive oil/rosemary/lemon/almond cake which sounds crazy, I know, but was quite good.
As for the restaurant; if you mean the Farmer's Kitchen, I went during their long soft opening phase and thought the food was underseasoned, but maybe they've worked on that since then.
Chowhound Post
Whisky locations in the North West?
The whiskey distilleries in those states are as follows, but I have no idea if they offer tours or not as most of them are very small, but you might be able to pick up some of their stuff at local stores:
Oregon
Cascade Peak Spirits, Ashland, OR: This organic vodka distillery has released a rye whiskey and is also working on Bourbon and corn whiskey.
Clear Creek Distillery, Portland, OR: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt, a peated single malt in the style of Islay Scotch made with peated barley imported from Scotland. Available throughout the west coast at specialty stores. They also make a number of fruit brandies.
Edgefield Distillery, Troutdale, OR: Hogshead single malt and Devil's Bit rye whiskey. Well regarded but very limited distribution. They also make fruit brandies.
Rogue Spirits, Portland, OR: Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey, a four grain whiskey from the producers of Rogue ale.
Washington
Dry Fly Distilling, Spokane, WA. This producer of gin and vodka recently did a very limited release of its Washington Wheat Wiskey and is also working on a single malt.
Ellensburg Distillery, Ellensburg, Washington. Ellensburg licensed a distillery in October 2008 and is selling futures for Gold Buckle Club Washington Frontier Style Whisky, a cask strength rye whiskey. They have not yet marketed any whiskey.
Montana
Roughstock Distillery, Bozeman, MT. This distillery is making Roughstock Montana Whiskey, a single malt which they claim will soon be coming to "a liquor store or watering hole near you."Wyoming Whiskey, Kirby Wyoming. Wyoming Whiskey have plans to make "America's next great bourbon." They started distilling in July 2009.
Wyoming
Wyoming Whiskey, Kirby Wyoming. Wyoming Whiskey have plans to make "America's next great bourbon." They started distilling in July 2009.
For a complete list of American whiskey distilleries: http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2009/0...
Chowhound Post
Ardbeg Uigedail for the peat lover in you
Where are you located?
Chowhound Post
Quality of independantly bottled Scotch Whiskies?
As DavidT indicates, indie Bottlings are a staple of the Scotch whisky industry. Buying them, though, can be tricky. Because many, if not most independently bottled single malts are single cask, there can be a huge variation among them, so buying them can be a real crapshoot. What I tend to do is look for companies I trust (Murry McDavid, Douglas Laing, Ian McLeod, Cadenhead's, etc., etc.) bottled at cask strength or at least 50% of malts that I either generally like, am curious about or have heard positive things about.
It's great fun to try them as the Indies offer whiskies, ages and abv levels that can't always be had from the distillers, but as I said, there is a bit of risk involved.
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2007/0...
Chowhound Post
Opinions of Port Ellen 25yo scotch whisky?
Port Ellen is a good whisky with mid-level smoke along the lines of Caol Ila, but I frankly think Port Ellens are not worth the price. As you indicate, the price of the Port Ellen is largely based on its scarcity and popularity within the collector's market. Had the distillery not shut down, there is no way people would be paying these prices for it. I would much rather spend half as much on an Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Caol Ila, etc. Port Ellen is good whisky, it's just not appreciably better than the other Islays.
That being said, some people will pay for the experience of sipping a whisky that is no longer being made, and love the idea of the scarcity of it. I think that's perfectly legitimate and if that appeals to you, go for it.
Chowhound Post
Legitimate cajun/creole single dishes at "regular" restaurants
The Deli at Little Dom's has a good muffaletta, though sometimes they use the wrong type of bread on it and it's too bready. I've never had their po boy as it's a special and I've never been when it's been on the menu.
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2009/0...
Chowhound Post
Ardbeg Uigedail for the peat lover in you
Very peaty indeed. In fact, one of the three highest peat level Scotches available, but also very young and very expensive. I personally would prefer the Uigedail or some of the other Ardbeg expressions to the Supernova.
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2009/0...
Chowhound Post
Laphroag look-alike???
It's not a theory, it's fact. Finlaggan is not a distillery. They purchase their whisky from other distilleries and bottle it under the Finlaggan label. This is common practice in whisky, so there is nothing devious about the practice so long as they aren't claiming they distilled it themselves, which I don't believe they are.
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2008/0...
Chowhound Post
Bayou Worthy Oyster Po Boys: Big Mama's in Pasadena
Big Mama's Rib Shack
1453 N. Lake Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 797-1792
Tried a lot of stuff but no the gumbo or jambalaya, will have to on my next trip, but honestly, nothing else was worth mentioning. This may be one of those one hit wonder places.
Chowhound Post
Bayou Worthy Oyster Po Boys: Big Mama's in Pasadena
One of the hardest cuisines to find a decent version of in LA is Cajun. Having had a job which required me to roam around the entire state of Louisiana for two years in the early '90s, I developed a deep love and respect for Cajun food. Not the refined creole dishes of New Orleans, but the rustic, fried seafood, jambalaya and gumbo of the Cajun country. The object of my deepest affection back then was the fried crawfish po boy, but given that mud bugs just don't make it out of Louisiana all to often, the best you can hope for west of Houston is a half way decent fried oyster po boy.
In the best version of this delicacy, the oysters are fresh and plump, flash fried and slapped on a bun with lettuce, tomato and mayo. Then, you add hot sauce to taste, which for me, means enough to saturate the bread and blend with the mayo, turning it the color of Russian dressing.
For a few years after moving to LA, I relied on the fried oyster po boy at the Venice Boulevard Uncle Darrow's shack for my fix. Unfortunately, that location closed years ago, and while there is another Uncle Darrow's in Marina Del Rey, I simply never make it out to Marina Del Rey.
On my recent LA gelato tour, (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/658808 ) I found myself hanging out in Altadena to sample the wondrous Bulgarini Gelato and needing someplace to eat after knocking down some goat milk gelato or olive oil yogurt. I didn't find a lot of options in Altadena, but just over the Pasadena border is Big Mama's Rib Shack.
Big Mama's is not an impressive looking place. More of a lounge than a shack, it has the feel of a run down night club. A massive TV greets customers at the front of the restaurant, and the place is divided in half with two separate decors. The left half of the room has some stylish touches, tables and a bar, but the right side features worn out booths with ripped fabric and a carpet in need of a serious cleaning.
As the name indicates, Big Mama's is a barbecue joint and the menu tends to emphasize the barbecue options. But when I scanned the menu, my eyes landed immediately on another section, tucked away on the side: Jambalaya, file gumbo, fried seafood, and a whole list of po boys...Louisiana food. One of my rules of life is that if an oyster po boy appears on a menu, I will order it, although in California, usually it will disappoint.
The Big Mama's po boy was an unassuming creature. A smaller version than is typical, featuring just two large oysters, but biting into that po boy was one of those moments in life you treasure, when you realize that you have found something truly and unexpectedly wonderful. The first bite revealed a crisp, nicely spiced cornmeal crust encasing a beautifully cooked, huge, juicy oyster within. It included the typical lettuce and tomato, though with a bit of onion and mustard as well. I grabbed the hot sauce, splashed some on to make that perfect bite and sat back, dreaming of shacks on the bayou, the decks of which I used to lounge on eating something like this. It was one of those flavors that takes you back. I was so happy that I came close to ordering a second one right on top of the first, but I try not to overindulge in such ways as I slip into middle age.
The hush puppies were good, but nothing else we ordered was worth noting. Despite the fact that Big Mama's bills itself as a rib shack, the ribs were unexciting and the catfish had that musty, dirty taste they get when they aren't prepared quite right or aren't the best quality to begin with, but none of that mattered. For now, I've found the best LA oyster po boy that I've had in years and within just a few miles of one of the best gelato shops anywhere. This was my definition of a find, and a balanced meal to boot.
Chowhound Post
What bourbon are you drinking these days?
Well, it's rare in the sense that it isn't available anymore, but it is not one that is particularly sought after by collectors, so I would say if you enjoy it, drink it.
Chowhound Post
Next Iron Chef 10/18 (spoilers)
Vietnamese was Pho Huyhn; Korean was Nak Won.
Chowhound Post
Yech! Rocco's on Wilshire-- are they under new ownership?
Totally agree with you on the lack of a good meatball sub. That was one of my go to orders at the Roccos on Vermont (which I could get delivery from) when it was operationg.
I do like the Bay Cities meatball sub though.
Chowhound Post
Next Iron Chef 10/18 (spoilers)
As an LA Chowhound, I was quite pleased with the episode, particularly with the choice of LA restaurants. When they said they were sending people to local Asian restaurants, I definitely cringed, knowing how bad TFN is at getting local food right, but several of these were excellent places, well known and much praised on Chowhound, including Din Tai Fung (the dumpling house) and Jitlada (Thai). I did not know the Korean or Vietnamese places, but they definitely did some homework on this one.
They do get points off for jumping on the over-hyped Kogi taco truck bandwagon, but that must have been a hard one for TFN to resist.
Chowhound Post
Yech! Rocco's on Wilshire-- are they under new ownership?
They closed the one on Vermont, so they may well have sold the Wilshire one as well. I miss my penne vodka pie.
Chowhound Post
Absinthe / Herbsainte component of a Sazerac
I like real Absinthe and have had good results using both Lucid and Obsello. The more botanical Absinthes (St. George for example) are a bit too strong and can clash with the rye.
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2008/0...
Chowhound Post
Shen Jian Bao aka pan fried buns
I second Dean Sin World (aka Tastio)...lovely SJB.
Chowhound Post
My LA Gelato Tour
I guess I will have to go and report back. The work of a gelato taster is never done.
Chowhound Post
My LA Gelato Tour
Thanks guys. It was hard work, but I persevered.
Chowhound Post
My LA Gelato Tour
Good to know. He wasn't there when I went. I will return.
Chowhound Post
My LA Gelato Tour
From the above:
Note that I did not include Scoops on Heliotrope here since I believe they call their product ice cream, but hey, you all know Scoops rocks anyway and I was after places that were new to me.
Chowhound Post
Seared foie gras in Los Angeles?
I think Animal always has at least one seared offering. The foie gras with biscuit and gravy is a seared preparation, as is the loco moco I believe.
Chowhound Post
My LA Gelato Tour
Recently, I've been in a gelato phase, lapping the stuff up like a thirsty mutt near a puddle. I've also been downing my share of affogato (gelato doused with espresso). Obsessive that I am, once I got the gelato jones, I had to try a broad swath of SoCal gelato and write it up.
Before we start, a brief note on the distinction between gelato and ice cream. Generally, gelato uses more milk and less cream than ice cream, so it actually has less fat. Because it is churned at a slower rate than ice cream, gelato also has less air whipped into it than ice cream. The rich, thick characteristic comes from the lack of air, not from added fat. Traditionally, gelato did not have eggs in the custard base, which ice cream generally does.
That being said, as a practical matter, there is a lot of murkiness in the distinction. Many people simply consider gelato to be an Italian style of ice cream and judge it based on presentation (e.g. laid out on trays rather than in tubs) and aesthetic rather than anything technical. I pretty much just went with places that called their product gelato. Note that I did not include Scoops on Heliotrope here since I believe they call their product ice cream, but hey, you all know Scoops rocks anyway and I was after places that were new to me.
Not every place offered an affogato but I tried to have one at each place that did (though I did miss one). The beauty of the affogato is that the rich espresso melds with the gelato and forms a heavenly coffee ice cream float. When done well, it is a beautiful gestalt of flavors, halfway between a solid and liquid but filled with flavor. When done poorly, it's a scoop of ice cream sitting in a cold puddle of coffee, a sad affair to say the least.
As I am wont to do, I've broken the contenders out into tiers to rank them.
FIRST TIER
Bulgarini Gelato, Altadena. I'm happy to report that the hype surrounding this Altadena gelato shop is well deserved. Tucked away in a run down strip mall anchored by a Rite-Aid and a Kragen on East Altadena Drive, just west of Lake, Bulgarini was my favorite gelato. The best flavors here were transcendent in both flavor and texture, particularly the olive oil yogurt, a fluffy, light as air tart frozen yogurt with a smooth olive oil taste topped with olive oil. It reminded me of some sort of olive oil foam you might get at Bazaar. The day I visited there was also a beautiful sheep milk and parsley gelato with madeira. Also excellent were the regular chocolate and the lemon cream. The Florentine chocolate, a chocolate with sea salt, had a nice chocolate flavor but was a bit too salty to have more than a bite.
Affogato is an off menu item at Bulgarini but they do make it. The one I had was very nice with a nice crema on the espresso and good proportions, but although they said it was an item they served, they asked for instruction on how to do it correctly. It was nice enough, but I would stick to the excellent gelato at this place.
Bulgarini Gelato
749 E. Altadena Dr.
Altadena, Ca. 91001
(626) 791-6174
Gelato Bar, Studio City. The biggest surprise in my gelato tour was how well this relatively unsung gelateria compared to the others. Owned by Gail Silverton, sister of Nancy, Gelato Bar offers innovative (though not overly weird) flavors that are bold without being too sweet. Their gelato is a perfect textural, specimen, rich and creamy with a dissolve in your mouth quality. It's neither as innovative nor as transcendent as Bulgarini but it is perhaps more what I think of as traditional gelato (at least in my American experience) done about the best way it can be done. My favorite flavors here were the chocolate sorbetto, stracciatella (chocolate chip), mango, ricotta and Veneziana (candied orange peel with chocolate).
The affogato at Gelato Bar was the best of the bunch. Made with a perfectly pulled Ecco Cafe espresso, whipped cream and Valrhona cacao nibs, the Gelato Bar affogato shows the importance of proper espresso preparation in the dish's composition. Gelato Bar makes a great espresso with a thick head of crema which blends perfectly with the scoops of gelato, creating that lovely synthesis that is the affogato. Why this place hasn't entered the pantheon of great LA gelatos is beyond me, but you owe yourself a trip.
Gelato Bar
4342 1/2 Tujunga Ave
Studio City, CA 91604-2751
(818) 487-1717
SECOND TIER
Pazzo Gelato, Silver Lake. I'd been looking forward to this popular Sunset Boulevard shop, but unlike Bulgarini, it did not live up to the hype. While I liked the milk chocolate, which had a Mexican chocolate spice to it, the flavors, in general, were too sweet, not intense enough and generally lacking in excitement.
The pazzagato, Pazzo's version of the affogato, got points off for using canned whipped cream and too much gelato. It's tempting, I'm sure, to load the cup up with gelato for the affogato, but moderation is part of the key. Too much ice cream turns the espresso cold and gives you the aforementioned cold puddle of coffee. And while I love Intelligentsia espresso in cappuccinos, it's too tannic for affogato, which really calls for something darker. The popularity of this place leads me to have serious questions about hipster tastes.
Pazzo Gelato
3827 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 662-1410
THIRD TIER
Al Gelato, Beverly Hills adjacent. This was another disappointing one for me. I'd heard a lot of praise for Al Gelato, on Robertson, but it simply didn't live up to the hype. The issues were similar to Pazzo Gelato: unexciting flavors, too sweet and a texture that lacked the rich and creamy qualities that I crave, and was even a bit icy, which is a cardinal sin of gelato. Al Gelato makes an affogato, but I didn't get to try it.
Al Gelato
806 S Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(310) 659-8069
Hollywood Gelato, Los Feliz. Hollywood Gelato, on Hillhurst in Los Feliz, was simply uninspiring. The flavors were too sweet and the gelato was icy. It lacked the rich and creamy qualities that make a great gelato. Apparently they are not doing so well as they have scaled back their hours fairly severely. They didn't have an affogato on the menu.
Hollywood Gelato
1936 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 644-3311
TO SUM UP
Best Gelato: Bulgarini with honorable mention for Gelato Bar
Best Affogato: Gelato Bar
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2009/1...
Chowhound Post
Has the LA County Fair Jumped the Shark Foodwise
Pumpkin Whoopie pies sound good. Was that a regular fair vendor or one of the baking competitions?
Chowhound Post
Has the LA County Fair Jumped the Shark Foodwise
Okay, maybe the phrase "jumped the shark" has also jumped the shark, but in any case, I've been to the fair every year for at least the last seven or eight years, and I always have fun, but I think the food has gone for style over substance, or more appropriately, weirdness over quality. Here's my report from http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2009/1...
Back to the Fair: Fear and Loathing at the LA County Fair
I love the LA County Fair and head out to Pomona every year for the festivities, but this year, I am worried that the fair food at has officially gone overboard. It all dates back six or seven years ago when the first fried Snickers bar appeared at the fair. The fried Snickers bar created food-oriented media coverage that went beyond the typical corn dog and barbecue fair food staples and people flocked to the fair to check it out. That is the earliest I remember the fair being a real food destination.
The thing about the battered, deep fried Snickers bar is that it is terrific. When done well (which is not always the case), the innards melt into a mash of chocolate, caramel and nuts which soaks into the fried batter in a most pleasing way. There are several fried Snickers purveyors at the fair, but the best is the Texas Donuts stand, near the Blue Gate parking entrance. This year, the stand added a new candy bar, identified only as a Fried Reese's. Now, this was not a peanut butter cup, so it must have been one of the Reese's bars. Since I don't really eat Reese's candy bars, I couldn't really tell which one it was, but based on an internet search, I'd guess a Fast Break. In any case, it was delicious; peanut butter cream and melted chocolate oozed out into the battered covering and made for a gooey, peanut butter treat. I've always wondered why they fry all manner of inappropriate things at the fair but don't fry more candy bars. Clearly they should.
But I digress, the fried candy bar is a good product, but it started a trend of frying more and more absurd things simply to get attention. Then, they started covering equally absurd items with chocolate. Now, the fair food pavilions look more like something from "This Is Why You're Fat" than anything you would want to eat. It is a victory of shock value over taste.
This year, selections included chocolate covered bacon, cotton candy, pickles and Cheetos. The new fried item of note was the Zucchini Weeni [sic], a battered, deep fried hot dog stuffed zucchini. I couldn't bear to try one.
The battered, deep fried zucchini was courtesy of Chicken Charlie, the fair's most prominent fried food vendor. Charlie is the one who first brought deep fried Twinkies, Oreos, frog's legs, Coke, s'mores and White Castle burgers to the fair, as well as the monstrosity that is the Krisy Kreme fried chicken sandwich. Charlie gets a lot of publicity for his efforts, but the truth is, I've never really enjoyed anything that I've purchased from his stand. The Oreos are not bad, but most of the food is lackluster. It's high concept, low quality, and a symbol of what has gone awry in Pomona.
So what was good at the fair this year aside from the deep fried candy bars? Well, I finally stopped at the cute little gingerbread house near the farml. The warm gingerbread cake was moist and nicely spiced, but it was topped with an ultra-light tasting whipped cream. Had it been topped with a heavier whipped cream, or even better, a homemade one, it would have been great.
And Dr. Bob's ice cream is always a fair treat. I was looking forward to the soy sauce ice cream I had heard reports about, but they weren't serving it the day I went. Instead, I had some wonderful blueberry ice cream, with strong blueberry flavor and lots of mashed blueberries throughout.
Even though I've grown a bit cynical about fair food, I look forward to the experience every year, and I will undoubtedly be back in 2010 to try the chocolate covered, deep fried ostrich fillets or whatever next year's specialty happens to be.
Chowhound Post
Best American spirit - rye - bourbon??
That's right, and actually, the US Code of Federal Regulations uses the whisky spelling, but whiskey is still the customary US spelling.
And just one picky correction, Early Times isn't Bourbon (anymore). It is aged in used barrels so it is now calls itself a "Kentucky Whisky."
Chowhound Post
Best American spirit - rye - bourbon??
I don't know Boston, but Julio's in Westborough is a great whiskey store.
Here's a brief primer on whiskey:
Whiskey is a general term for a spirit distilled from grains and aged in wood. Scotch, Bourbon, rye, Irish Whiskey etc. are all types of whiskey (or "whisky" in the British spelling).
Bourbon is an American whiskey which is made from at least 51% corn (though most contain much more). There are other requirements about its proof and the type of barrels it is aged in, but the corn is what is important.
Rye is an Ameircan whiskey made from at least 51% rye. It is the same concept as Bourbon but the primary grain is rye.
http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2007/0...
