ITry's Profile
No Reservations: US Desert
I love the El Bulli episode too! It's pretty bad when my favorite part of the show was the car. I live in the area and know where he was. He definitely was not in the high desert as he kept on referring to it. He was in the low desert. Overall, it was boring. I didn't watch it. Desert dwellers are some strange folks.
Bread making -- total beginner! Where do I start?
Darren,
I feel your pain. All I wanted was a homemade bread that could come close to my mother-inlaw's bread. I found a recipe that I can actually get consistently good results form. Even my mother-inlaw approves! :) It's very easy. It's on the King Arthur Flour website, here's the link.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2010/01/28/sandwich-bread-fit-for-the-king/
You have to try this recipe, it's awesome!
Ross
Best Sandwhich in Orange County?
Sorry, I cannot agree with you. Their ham is ok. Nothing to write home about. I had one of their Cuban's a couple of months ago and it was entirely forgettable.
Plus, your post reads like an advertisement.
What are your favorite dives and cheap eats WORTH THE DRIVE?
I would take a pass on El Abajeno. I used to love and recommend it. I took my wife and MIL last wednesday. It was crap. The oil that they used to cook the flautas was many days old. None of us wanted to eat even one. Their gaucamole is not guacamole. It's that running snot looking stuff that's made from a powder. Carl's Jr has better guac and that's not saying much. The cheese (I assume it was cheese) on top of the refried beans had that tart, bad cheese flavor. My Carne Asada burrito did not have carne asada inside it. It was some cheap shredded beef that was also old. The menu says it's steak...well, it's not chicken. I guess it might have been a steak at some point long ago...
I live in the IE, much better food out here. I had no idea that the food at El Abajeno had lost so much of it's quality. We were there on 3/31 at 1:30pm. No one was in there except for us and a couiple of other diners. It was a ghost town. What a waste of time and money. Thankfully, Randy's Donuts didn't disappoint!
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Randy's Donuts
805 West Manchester Ave, Inglewood, CA 90301
El Abajeno
4513 Inglewood Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
Taco Bell Pre-90s Was Good - Do You Notice the Difference Now?
I do! Gotta admit though, Del Taco had a superior egg and bean burrito...
Taco Bell Pre-90s Was Good - Do You Notice the Difference Now?
Does any one remember Taco Del Amo in the Del Amo Fashion Square? Were they Taco Bell with a slightly different name?
Taco Bell Pre-90s Was Good - Do You Notice the Difference Now?
Finally! Someone other than myself noticed the change! I noticed that they went to flour tortillas that I can only describe as rubbery. Prior to that, they were, for lack of a better way to phrase it, dryer. I preferred the older style. I'm thinking that they went to vegie oil in those, like as has been previously mentioned in their taco meat.
What obscure recipe book do you have and love?
No blog..Cooks Source will just steal it..
Cookbooks you shouldn't have purchased...which books just didn't work for you?
I still have my hard cover edition of The Frugal Gourmet. It was my first cookbook that I bought in my mid twenties when I finally got a place of my own with no room-mates. He was on PBS at the time. I made a bunch of his recipes. I loved his cheesecake recipe! It was so easy and it tasted pretty dang good too! I keep it now for sentimental reasons.
Is there a Food Network show called Meat and Potatoes?
Yep it's a real show. I saw an ad for it last night. It's a show about a guy who's a glutton, touring the country and eating more than is necessary. IMHO
Best Guy-Friendly Dessert?
Being a man, I wholeheartedly agree with Breadcrumbs. I personally don't have a very discriminating palate, so I would reverse the list, putting chocolate chunk cookies on top, then ice cream, then the pies and cobbler.
As I think about it, a barbecued dessert would peak my culinary interest over the aforementioned items. Including individual interactivity with the grill would be a plus all around. It' would keep us outside where we could be men and talk football or whatever and the woemn could be inside doing whatever it is that women do at those types of functions.
Can L.A. Area Pitmasters Bring Credibility to "BBQ Pitmasters" On TLC
While I haven't seen the episode yet. I want to. I've been following Big Mistah and Prof. Salt on line for years. I totally agree about the Kingsford award. To me, this season, this show is all about product placement.
Can L.A. Area Pitmasters Bring Credibility to "BBQ Pitmasters" On TLC
I agree. It would be nice for locals to be on the show for those who still watch it.
I was completely surprised by the shift in format. It's not for me anymore.
Tacqueria in LA that makes tortillas on the spot like La Super Rica in SB?
Well that can't be good. It seems like it would ruin the tortilla. Is it for flavor or to keep it moist?
Down Home with the Neeleys
It's entertaining. The only negative is Pat's laugh creeps me out. That hehehehe just creeps me out. But that's my issue. Ok two negative things. The way that the Neeley's are promoted, it makes them sound as if they're the only Neeley in town. His uncle, Jim Neeley who runs the famously delicious Interstate BBQ, taught him how to cook. Again, these are my own personal gripes. Other than that, they're fun to watch!
Five Guys Burgers & Fries Opens in Cerritos
I went to the Cerritos location last Weds. My first time to Five Guys. My wife and I both liked it more than In-N-Out. My wife love's In-N-Out fries, but hates the buns. She like the buns at Five Guys, which I thought was amusing, considering that judging by the bags under the work station, they use Smart and Final's First Street crap!
Sprouts in Pasadena Aug. 4
That's the experience my wife and I had at Henry's in Rancho Bernardo about a month ago. We bought the same things that you bought at Sprouts and were disappointed when we got home. Having said that, we love love love our Sprouts in Riverside. It's got the food we like, it's not crowded with the strangely pushy crowd that seems to gravitate towards TJ's. It's like 60 miles closer to us than Bristol Farms.
Which cooking show kitchen setup are you most jealous of?
Count me in on Ina Garten's too! I believe I read that she recently had a nice size addition built next to her home solely for the purpose of recipe development for her cookbooks and of course her TV shows.
You would have a hard time finding _________in Los Angeles...
I've never been to Chicago, so I don't know how authentic it is. The owner is a friendly old Italian from Chicago, if that helps. The stuffed pizza and thin crust were both fantastic!
Chicago Pasta House (www.chicagopastahouse.com)
24667 Sunnymead Boulevard
Moreno Valley
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Chicago Pasta House
24667 Sunnymead Blvd, Moreno Valley, CA 92553
Do you prefer Cold Pizza?
I wouldn't say that I prefer it. At the same time, it's perfectly acceptable. Esp. in the morning! Yum!
Sprouts Farmers Market 50th Store (full-service grocery store) NOW Open in Sunnyvale Wed 6/2/10
We've got one down here in Riverside, and I love it! Good prices, good quality produce,etc.
Charcoal Grill Users - Talk Me Out Of It!
I bought a used Weber Spirit a couple of years ago for the exact same reasons. I love my Weber kettle and I use it all the time too, but there are times when I want to throw a couple of burgers on the grill and eat. If you have room for the additional grill, I say go for it. I did and I'm happy with both.
charcoal vs. briquets?
All good info. Thanks for giving Stubbs the thumbs up. I just picked up 3 bags of Stubbs at Lowes. Anything’s gotta be better than Kingsford. I never had a problem with Kingsford in the past. But, ever since they re-formulated it earlier this year, it’s just not working for me. My biggest gripe isthis; by the time the coals are lit at the top of my chimney, the coals at the bottom of the chimney are half the size! When I dump the coals onto the grate, quite a few of them fall through. I’m using a Weber 22″ Kettle and a Weber chimney. My work around is to dump the coals before they’re all fully lit into a pile onto the grate. I got a bag of lump charcoal at Albertson’s supermarket under the Kroger brand name. They seem ok. I think just need to learn how to fine tune my process’s to maximize them to their full potential.
Great knife skills class in LA, preferably Eastside?
Riverside City College has a pretty good culinary program. You want to check with Pasadena CC (does Pasadena have a CC?), or Glendale CC.
WEBER SPIRIT 310 BBQ
I love my Spirit and my kettle. As long as Weber stands behind their product, it's ok by me.
Do people really (and I mean "really") like Girl Scout Cookies?
I don't care who sells the Samoas. I'd still buy them. As a kid, I used to love Gaucho's a retail version of the Samoas. My absolute favorite grocery store cookie (of course nothing holds a candle to what mom made ie choc. chip, oatmeal, or peanut butter).
So, to answer your question, "yes" I'd still "go ga-ga" over them if the GS didn't sell them.
