Mexican salsa?

I've been buying and enjoying salsas lately from a stand at the Studio City Farmer's Market on Sunday mornings - the stand is called Salsa Poblano, and they make several different kinds of salsa, really good thick chips, guac, occasionally they have ceviche and mole as well. They give out lots of free samples, which is always a bonus. They have a chile de arbol salsa that is addictive.

I love the salsas at Cacao but it seems like they changed recipes recently, the last time I was there, the didn't serve their really good red salsa with their chips.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Great croissant in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Noho, etc?

Glad you liked it. I was there this weekend too, and they're still as good as ever. They're also big enough for a breakfast sandwich, which is what I wound up doing with them.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Great croissant in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Noho, etc?

One of my favorite croissants in the LA area is in Studio City, at the Sunday Farmer's Market. Look for a bakery called "Traditions of Provence" or TOP Bakery. He sells many different flavors, as well as brioche, bread, macaroons, etc. His butter croissant is buttery, flaky and generously sized.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Rosca de Reyes at Panaderia Los Reyes in Bell

Los Reyes is my favorite panaderia. Their stuff is always fresh, tasty, and super cheap to boot. Best yet, they're two doors down from La Casita Mexicana!

Thanks for the heads up on the special. We had their capirotada last year around Easter and it was really good too.

Tim

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies -- what happened..???

They moved to a space in downtown, but they still will deliver as far out as Hollywood/West Hollywood. I got a couple of pies delivered last week, and they're as delicious as ever. Sure, it takes a little longer to deliver that far out, but you just heat up the pizza a little bit when it gets delivered, and it's good as ever.

I only picked up from their space once - delivery is free if you get one large or two small (or like me, one large and one small, usually), and they've been accurate, friendly and easy to use - their delivery guys use an iPhone app to accept credit cards without giving them the number over the phone.

Tim

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Best Dinner Option at Palms/Palms Place?

My wife decided that what she really wanted to do to celebrate her upcoming birthday would be to go see Louis CK at the Palms in LV.

We're driving out there and got a room at the Palms Place, first time I will be even setting foot in that particular hotel casino complex. I figured it would be easiest to eat dinner there before the 9pm show.

Problem is, I have no clue as to which, if any, restaurants at the Palms are any good. We're adventurous eaters, we love Lotus of Siam (that's probably our lunch spot that same day), we would always go to Rosemary's but that's closed now.

Anything original and/or delicious to be had at the Palms, or a relatively short driving distance away from there?

Thanks

Tim

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Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave Ste A5, Las Vegas, NV 89104

TimToyGeek in Las Vegas

Italian Beef in SoCal

Taste Chicago in Burbank has a pretty credible Italian Beef.

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Taste Chicago
603 N Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

Yes, I'm sure they would. I got my spinach pizza without mushrooms before, they seem open to most adds/subs if they have the ingredients.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

I ordered some more from Hollywood Pies - this time I got delivery, which was just fine. The pizza took a little while, but they advised us of that fact. When it got to us, it was piping hot and ready to eat.

I got the Bugsy, which is sausage and pepperoni, and the Cheese, which is just cheese and tomatoes, basic. The cheese was fine, lots of nice mozzarella and that delicious tomato mixture. I am more of a toppings person, but this was nice and basic, and my wife wanted something less spicy.

The sausage and pepperoni was really good, even better than the sausage and ricotta in my opinion. There was larger pieces of sausage, it was nicely seasoned with fennel. The pepperoni was spicy and cut thick, but was not too hard to cut. The two flavors went very nicely with the tomatoes and crust. I was full after two pieces, and I'm really looking forward to the leftovers since it heats up nicely.

Tim

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Hollywood Pies
385 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90048

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

I just pulled into the parking lot at the former Acapulco space, off La Cienega, called them and they came right out with my pizza. Best yet, there's a light there so you don't have to make a hazardous turn onto La Cienega when you leave.

I can report, also, that it's nearly as good the second day reheated.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

That's right, it's across from the Largo at La Cienega and Oakwood. They're pickup or delivery only for now.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

The pies I had were by no means dried out. They were just about right - not too greasy, not too stale.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

The good thing about a proper Chicago pizza is it's an endurance food. I let the ones I got sit in the oven for a couple of hours until dinner time, popped them in to crisp the crust back up a bit, and it was perfect. I'd say it should survive a car trip to Northridge.

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Hollywood Pies - FINALLY some decent Chicago Pizza in LA

There was an Eater LA profile on Monday about a new Chicago Pizza place - delivery or pick-up only - called Hollywood Pies, so this past Friday I figured I'd give them a try.

I was born and raised in Chicago, and love deep dish Chicago style pizza. I had gotten used to the fact that there is no real Chicago pizza to be found in LA - I've had Masa, I've had Tony's Little Italy, they're fine but they're not quite 'it". I was fine mail-ordering some Lou Malnati's every so often. But I'm always game to try something claming to be authentic Chicago pie.

I ordered a large sausage and a small spinach, and about an hour later I picked them up from their place, which as it turns out is right across from the Largo on La Cienega. It was formerly the Acapulco on La Cienega. I called them up again and they came out with my pizzas. It felt just a little bit like a drug deal, but then proper Chicago pizza is kind of a drug, right?

I gotta say, this is good, authentic Chicago pizza. I think they got it just about perfect. To start with, it's heavy. I mean, it has a proper heft the way a real deep dish pizza should. The crust is very nice, not too buttery or greasy, no corn meal on the bottom but they laid down a little netting mat under each pizza to keep it from unifying with the box. The back crust is nicely crispy and flavorful, the bottom crust is not too thick or doughy. Just about perfect.

There is then a nice pully layer of mozzarella on top of the crust, then the toppings, then the tomatoes and spices. For the sausage, it was broken up into smallish bits with good spice and flavor, some fennel seeds in there, and mixed with ricotta. It added a nice smoothness and richness to the overall flavor. The spinach was sauteed with some garlic and chopped fine.

The tomatoes on top were especially good, nicely garlicky and with a great smack of oregano that really helped to make the taste that much more authentic. Then a layer of parmesan on top of the tomatoes.

I managed three pieces before getting very full - again, it's nice and dense - and my wife, who is from LA but a Chicago pizza convert from our visits there, enjoyed it as well.

I'm now convinced that proper Chicago deep dish pizza exists in Los Angeles. And they're in my neighborhood! I grew up eating at Malnati's, Giordano's, Carmen's and Due. Lately when I go home we've been going to this place Delisi's which was truly amazing, though they closed recently. Hollywood Pies ranks right up there with my favorites from Chicago.

Tim

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Masa Restaurant
2063 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Lucques "All American Rib Fest"

I agree - I went last year, and while the food was decent, it was very expensive for what you get. The food is messy, which is not always a bad thing, but the restaurant is so nice that you feel strange getting so messy and befouling your nice cloth napkin.

In general the BBQ meat was nothing earth shaking, the quality was there but I'd rather go to Big Mista's to eat at home where I can be as messy as I want.

Also, I'm not sure I would really call it AYCE - at least, I didn't get any seconds on anything as I recall, and I might have at least wanted some more of the wings.

Now, cassoulet night at Lucques - that's totally worth it!

Tim

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Lucques
8474 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90069

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Persian Mulberries 2011 - Any Markets or Restaurants Have 'Em?

I have heard on some other food sites that Persian Mulberries are now in season. I don't go to too many different farmers markets - I primarily go to Studio City or Atwater on Sundays, occasionally Hollywood - but I'm willing to try other markets to try to find these rare delicious berries. Anyone seen them in any sort of abundance to where a non-pro could buy them?

I've only been able to have them as dessert or fruit plates at a couple of restaurants in the past - usually because the chefs buy them out so quickly. I've had them at Canele and Campanile, who else serves them when they're in season?

Thanks in advance!

Tim

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Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Trip Report - Maui

Thanks to all for great advice on my trip to Maui. I had a great time with some excellent food. Here are some highlights:

1. Merriman's for dinner - amazing food, beautiful setting, unique wine list and just very delicious. I think it was the best dinner I had all week, with the best dessert (their take on a pineapple upside down cake made from banana bread, with caramelized pineapple and glazed macadamia nuts

2. Local delicacies - I discovered Roselani ice cream at TIMES market, we got the Haupia flavor and I got a chance to sample the macadamia flavor too. Great stuff. I also enjoyed those little coconut cookies, I found a guy at the craft fair who makes amazing macaroons, and of course POG.

3. Star Noodle - I liked this place, and its odd location (at the top of a hill in an industrial warehouse park) lent itself to a stunning sunset. Wonderful pork buns, pad thai, garlic noodles and other goodies, and fairly inexpensive too.

4. Lahaina Grill - I liked this one a lot too, good choices beyond fish (I was getting a little fished-out by the end of the week), I got the kalua duck confit. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff.

5. Hali'imale General Store - we went upcountry one day, had lunch here and it was worth the trip. I got a whole ahi napoleon to myself (most of my family didn't want raw fish) and I gotta say the recommendations were right. My wife got the ribs and they were also delicious.

6. Ulu Lani Shave Ice - we went twice and I want to keep going to try all their flavors. They're artists, very original and friendly. My favorite was the coconut with cream and shaved coconut with mac nut ice cream on the bottom.

7. Kihei Caffe for breakfast - I liked Kihei, it's a bit more funky and relaxed than Ka'anapali or Lahaina. I had a delicious cinnamon roll - maybe the best one I can remember - and their pork fried rice with fried eggs on top. What a great breakfast. The yolk runs down into the rice, which is loaded with bacon and crispy bits of portuguese sausage.

Tim
"toy geek"

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Lahaina Grill
127 Lahainaluna Rd., Lahaina Maui, HI 96761

Kihei Caffe
1945 S Kihei Rd, Kihei, HI 96753

Star Noodle
286 Kupuohi St, Lahaina, HI 96761

TimToyGeek in Hawaii

Maui Dining

How about around Ka'anapali? I'll be staying at the Westin Ocean Resort for a week or so in mid-may, anything really Chowish and not to be missed around there?

Ideally I'd love a couple of high end places, some local spots that may not be as well known, breakfasts, etc.

I believe I will be going to the General Store restaurant at one point, is there anything there that's not to be missed?

Thanks in advance

Tim

TimToyGeek in Hawaii

What are the top 5 panaderias in la county?

One that I've been enjoying lately is Los Reyes, that's in Bell next door to La Casita Mexicana on Gage. Really good flavor of Mexican bread, interesting pastries that I haven't had anywhere else. Lots of canele flavor, good rolls. My wife swears by their pan de huevo and cuernos.

I also like how they often just roll out the bakery racks into the bakery to cool off, and you can get your selection off the racks while they're still warm.

Tim

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La Casita Mexicana
4030 Gage Ave, Bell, CA 90201

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Vegas Trip - Marche Bacchus, Rosemary's, China Poblano, etc.

We finally did find the 'hidden pizza place' but we were full after breakfast. Next time, I'm trying it. The other Jose Andres tapas-style place looked pretty good. It was also the only hotel I've seen with a nicely curated gourmet cookware and wine shop themed around the restaurants.

I'm still craving those duck tongue tacos!

Tim

TimToyGeek in Las Vegas

Vegas Trip - Marche Bacchus, Rosemary's, China Poblano, etc.

So I had a recent opportunity to go to Vegas last week for business, and I stretched it out a bit by adding a day before, and inviting my wife to come along. We were planning to get some of our favorite restaurants in, and maybe try some new ones.

We drove in Monday morning, and headed to Marche Bacchus to have lunch. The setting is perfect, beautiful and right on the lake, peaceful and quiet. We liked our lunch - I had a bowl of gumbo and half a Croque Monsieur, and my wife opted for the flank steak since she likes bordelaise. Once our plates came, we switched, as the steak was a bit heavy for her, and I liked it a lot. It came sliced with a nice char on the outside, a plate full of roasted shallot bordelaise and some excellent frites. The gumbo was nice, full of shredded chicken and sausage, and the Croque was fine - it perhaps could have used a bit more cheese on the outside, but the ham and cheese was very good.

Throughout our meal, we were amused by the bold ducks that would walk right up to our table and quack until we tossed them some bits of bread. Of course, that attracted more ducks. They got kind of insistent!

The wines there were very nice, and we bought a couple of bottles of good Riesling and talked wine with the store owner. I liked the peace and quiet of the lake area, I would go back.

Dinner that night we went to Rosemary's, which is still one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas. It helps to have your own car though. The atmosphere is as nice as ever, refined but relaxed, quiet but fun. Our server was attentive and helpful, and everything came out very nicely.

We split an iceberg wedge salad (a special) to start - if that was a split, it was very generous, nice fresh lettuce, smoky bacon, maytag bleu and a tangy dressing that added up to a delicious salad. I generally don't love iceberg, but I really enjoyed this dish.

I opted for a special of andouille-crusted redfish served on a bed of red beans and rice. Very delicious and nicely spicy, the andouille was not heavy or greasy, the fish was perfectly cooked. My wife went for a NY Strip served with something they called "get a man" potatoes. This was a tall potato galette, kind of a constructed scalloped potato cake with slim layers of potato with cream, spices and what I think was gruyere. It was amazing. Her steak was flavorful with an onion jam, it had a bit of fat on the edges but easy enough to trim off.

We split the coconut bread pudding dessert, amazing as always. I think this may be my favorite dessert in recent memory, and while I always want to try other desserts there (they do a great carrot cake) if I have one dessert to eat there, that's it.

I like how they let me do the price fix for the three courses and split two of the three, and we also used a restaurant.com gift certificate to bring down the price. It's a decent deal if you work it.

Tuesday was my work event, we got a quick breakfast off strip, finding Harrie's Bagelmania. It was just okay - I thought my bagelwich was decent, Dee ordered an everything bagel and got only the bottom everything, but the top a sesame. Weird. Their coffee was pretty weak too.

We moved hotels to the Cosmopolitan, which was amazing, I need to go back there. We had intended to go to Lotus of Siam for lunch, but time was getting short, and instead we decided to try China Poblano. I liked the concept and design, and the food was pretty good too. I didn't mind sitting at a communal table as it was pretty empty in there. Dee tried a pomegranate margarita that came with the salt air on top, which was really super salty - it actually hurt my lip to drink it. I'd suggest trying a straw with those salt air drinks. I had a prickly pear agua fresca which was tasty and fresh.

We ordered several small plates as our server recommended - chips and salsa, the lobster tacos, the Silencio (duck tongues and rambutan), the BBQ pork bao, and Dee wanted to try the posole.

The chips were good, fresh and warm with a spicy salsa. I think they had some five-spice powder on them. The bao were pretty dull, not very fluffy or flavorful. The lobster tacos were really good, pacific langoustes with a good fresh salsa. The posole was okay, the pork in it was plentiful but fatty, and it came with fresh shredded radishes and a couple of chiccharones, but no lemon.

Dee did not want to try the duck tongue tacos, but I loved them. The meat was very soft and had none of the chewiness I have read about - our server even expressed suprise, I guess the batches she ate were a bit membraneous, but the ones I had were delicious. The rambutan and sauce complemented the tacos perfectly. I felt a bit guilty considering our duck friends from the other day, but I got over it.

The event I had was at the Stirling Club, which was palatable enough for banquet food. As it was a work-only event, Dee stayed at the Cosmopolitan and shopped, then had what she said was good wine but a terrible pizza at the Italian DOCG place there. I picked her up some Sonic on the way home from my event as she had not eaten most of her dinner.

The next day we were thinking about going to Hash House or Blueberry Hill for breakfast, but people working at the hotel told us how much they liked the Wicked Spoon buffet there, so we tried that. It was about $16 each, and a unique enough concept - lots of smaller dishes and individual serving pieces keep the food hot. There was a nice spread, interesting takes on benedicts and baked eggs, carvery bacon and house-smoked kielbasa, some excellent smoked salmon pastrami and one of the best yogurt and granola parfaits I've ever tried. It wasn't quite as special as we had been led to believe, though, and the service was not great - nobody refilled our coffee or water the entire meal - but I got enough to eat.

Overall, I'd say we had a good trip, especially since we got to experience the Cosmopolitan and enjoy Rosemary's. It's still one of my favorite restaurants in any city.

Tim

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Marche Bacchus
2620 Regatta Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89128

Hash House
2605 S Decatur Blvd Ste 103, Las Vegas, NV 89102

Bagelmania
855 E Twain Ave # 120, Las Vegas, NV

Lotus of Siam
953 E Sahara Ave Ste A5, Las Vegas, NV 89104

TimToyGeek in Las Vegas

LA Street Food Festival - Who's In?

I had a good time at the Festival as well, though I did general admission and found that some of the lines got to be a bit long, especially when the stands would temporarily run out of food. All in all I thought the event was good though.

I liked:

Nana Queen's "sampler platter" of a wing, corn and banana pudding" Sedthee Thai's boneless rib on lemongrass salad, the hardshelled shrimp taco that Nicole mentioned, the black mole tacos at Antojitos mi Abuelito, the Peanut Butter and Bacon and Root Beer ice creams at Coolhaus, the sandwiches and tater tots (and friendly service) from Grilled Cheese Truck, and the green corn tamal at Border Grill.
I also liked that the stands were open and you could go up there to get away from the crowds.

I didn't like:

There was still some crowding and confusion once the GA crowd got into the fest - I thought that having a map and lots more signage for each booth would have helped. Several times I was in a line not knowing who the booth was or what they were serving.

I would have liked it if they had utilized more of the area around the stadium rather than having all of the booths on the field - the lines could sometimes get disorganized and went into the picnic areas in the center

Not every food item was hot when most of them should be - some things it didn't matter much, but some of the samples were kind of gross when they were cold, like a tamale.

Several stands ran out - my wife got to try some of those cupcakes, but by the time I made it to the stand, they were completely out - apparently they just set out a bunch of different cupcakes and people were grabbing several of them.

There could have been more drinks available - I would have loved to have just some water you could get. Next time I would bring some of my own water. The beer lines were very long, so I didn't even bother getting a free singha that would have gotten warm quickly anyway.

Overall, though, a fun festival and I enjoyed going to it. I would go again.

Tim

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

need a unique lunch reco in atwater village..

I've had a couple of very good meals at Canele in Atwater Village on Brand. And if you're around on Sunday, you can get some Big Mista's BBQ from the farmer's market.

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Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Best Chili Size?

I like two different chili sizes:

Pepy's Galley, a great greasy spoon diner attached a bowling alley. Wonderful chili size. Venice near Centinela.

Brent's Deli - I don't know why their chili is so good, but it really is. Great in an omelette, on a chili dog and their chili size is amazing as well. Northridge.

Patty Melt - I thought the one I had at Boneyard Bistro was outrageously good. Maybe not a 'true' patty melt, but great nonetheless. Studio City.

Tim

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

Rosemary's, Lotus of Siam - Off-Strip Adventures!

My wife handled the gift certificate - I think she bought a $25 gift certificate for Rosemary's when they were on sale recently. It may have been $50. Even so, that's a nice deal considering the level of the restaurant.

TimToyGeek in Las Vegas

Rosemary's, Lotus of Siam - Off-Strip Adventures!

I just got back from a few days in Vegas to celebrate my wife's birthday, she got Bette Midler tickets through a connnection and we're always up for a getaway.

We had made reservations at Rosemary's, which is now one of our favorites. We used to love Commander's Palace, and I think that Rosemary's is a great contender to replace it in our hearts.

We were hungry when we got in, so wound up at Mesa Grill. I liked it overall, especially the sauces. My wife had the chicken tacos, and I had the lunch prix fixe which got us a duck pancake (tasty, good sauce), a buffalo burger (delicious burger, good cheese, tasty fries, unripe tomato) and dessert, which they said was supposed to be some sort of coconut profiterole but turned out to be pretty bad. The ice cream in the profiteroles was really good, but the dough tasted like it was from a freezer section of a grocery store. My wife loved the peanut sauce that came with her tacos though the portion was pretty skimpy. Not bad though.

Dinner at Rosemary's was amazing - we had high hopes and they were totally fulfilled. The service there is top notch, super attentive and friendly. We both had the $55 price fix, and we had bought some restaurant.com gift certificates to help ease the price a bit. My wife had the corn soup, pork chop with hoppin' john, and their carrot cake dessert with blueberry sorbet. I tasted her dishes and loved them, though the hoppin' john was just so-so. The pork chop was really tasty, and that dessert was delicious, a different version of a carrot cake, lighter and with a solid layer of cream cheese filling. The blueberry sorbet went really well with it too.

I had the BBQ shrimp with blue cheese slaw, which I liked though I'm not a big fan of shrimp - they were possibly the weak part of the dish, though the BBQ sauce and the tangy slaw was really tasty. I then had the bone-in ribeye served with their own steak sauce, fried onions and grits. This dish was a realy winner, a very generous steak with a delicious sauce, spicy fried onion strings and creamy grits. Everything married nicely on the plate. My dessert was the coconut bread pudding - our waiter told us they used their white chocolate rolls to make the pudding. It was entirely the best bread pudding I've ever had, with a unique texture and flavor, topped with chocolate sauce and coconut gelato. It was like injecting the world's best Almond Joy bar into a vein.

When we were talking with the staff at Rosemary's, we told them we liked to dine off strip, and they told us they recommended Lotus of Siam, which we were definitely looking to do. They told us at Rosemary's they thought LoS was the best restaurant in town, which is saying something! They even wrote down some of their favorite dishes there.

We just had coffee the next day, and got to LoS around noon. We were told a couple of times to skip the buffet, and we did. Though it's just a bit skechy compared to some of the opulent Strip restaurants, I now see why LoS gets all the write-up and compliments. It's just that good! We ordered several different dishes including the beef jerky and Nam Krao Tod appetizers, a crispy catfish salad, and a couple of other things. We especially loved the spicy, vibrant flavors of the crispy rice and catfish salad. We got them at a spice level of 7, which was good and spicy, but not too uncomfortable. Dessert was the coconut ice cream and sticky rice. At first I didn't get it, but once I combined the ice cream (actually a sorbet) and rice, I realized it was designed to be eaten together. It was enthralling! We both thoroughly enjoyed the LoS experience and can't wait to go back with more people and try more stuff. I want to get a whole fried catfish next time.

That lunch lasted us through the show, but afterwards we were both hungry, and not liking our on-strip options. We decided to drive again and wound up at Sonic on Sahara. I had never had Sonic before, and I liked it a lot. Much better than usual fast food. The root beer float, tater tots and burger on toast were nearly as good, I thought, as our Mesa Grill lunch, and about 1/5 the price.

The next morning we decided to check out First Food & Drink for breakfast. We had a bit of difficulty finding it since it's kind of both in the Palazzo and in the Venetian, but we had a very good breakfast there. We ordered a bag of donuts, which were fresh cinnamon sugar mini donuts, about 12 of them, served warm in a mini fryer basket, which was fun. My wife had a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, which was served on a poppy seed roll with tater tots. I had their brisket hash, which was tasty, with big chunks of lean brisket, roasted potatoes, peppers and onions. I think it lived up to its menu, which is not easy for a newer place. I'll definitely come back to First, at least to try out their pretzels.

All in all a very nice stay in Vegas - I'm coming back soon to get more Lotus!

Tim
"toy geek"

TimToyGeek in Las Vegas

Sticky Buns

Canele in Atwater Village has one of the best pecan sticky buns I've ever had - fresh, hot and flaky. So far everything I've had from there for brunch has been outstanding.

The ones you get at the freezer section in Trader Joe's are also pretty darn good for a shortcut...

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area

What's New/Good at Taste 2009?

I'm going to Taste this week - I know, it's crowded, messy etc. But I was raised going to Taste and I think it's fun despite all that.

I have my usual strategy - go pre/post lunchtime, take the train, bring water, napkins, etc.

What's especially good and new this year? I'm intrigued by the frozen popcorn ball especially because it's a Richard Blais idea. That burger with the polish on it sounds messy but possibly very good too.

Thanks for any reviews and tips.

Tim
"toy geek"

TimToyGeek in Chicago Area

Shaved Ice at MILK

So they've been talking up the Shaved Ice (Raspados) at MILK, and that and the fact that my wife has been craving an ice cream sandwich seemed like a good excuse to make a run.

They've set up the ice shaving station outside, and you pay inside and get whatever ice cream and treats, then take your receipt out to the station and make your raspa.

We just got one to try out, and the guy manning the ice shaver and a huge block of ice works his magic, makes you a cup of ice, then lets you choose from several different flavors, most of which he combines with what tastes like a very good version of sweetened condensed milk.

I chose coconut and dulce de leche with strawberry, and there were lots more flavors to choose from, both fruity (lemon, lychee, tamarind with chili) and non (espresso, mojito). When I have gotten raspas in San Bernadino or wherever I've had them, I usually like the interplay of strawberry and milk, so that's what I went with.

It was probably the best shaved ice/snow cone/raspa experience I have ever had. The coconut was very fresh with lots of crispy coconut shreds, the milk sweet but not cloying, and the dulce de leche was buttery and obviously homemade. The strawberries were fresh and delicious with everything. The milk helped tie everything together, so you had less of a snow cone with watery flavors and more of an icy creamy treat.

I'm going back next chance I get to try more flavors! At 3.00 a cup, it's a good price too.

Tim
"toy geek"

TimToyGeek in Los Angeles Area