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Rosiepigs's Profile

Hostaria del Piccolo

I took the girlfriend there for Valentine's Day and we were both happy--she because she loves Italian, and me because I grew up on the East Coast when going out to eat was either Chinese food or mediocre red sauce Italian. She was please with her bolognese, and I liked my pasta with sausage and peas. Plus, I liked the grilled calamari, and octopi still kinda weird me out. I think this is now our go-to Italian.

Bacon Milkshake

Please tell me this is the Jumping the Shark moment of the bacon craze. I like bacon as much as the next guy, but this sounds disgusting. Pig should not come in liquid form, unless it's lard, and then delicious.

Cassoulet in LA

Lucques' annual Cassoulet night is coming up, so I was wondering where else in LA one can gout un bon cassoulet. Alas, Le Saint Amour seems to be no more, so what other French-ish bistro or brasserie might carry it?

Please help me with a wiener!

I think we have a wiener! I asked an Swiss friend and he thinks that I'm looking for the cervelat, the national sausage of Switzerland! (I swear one of the places I've been to was actually Swiss and no one suggested it.) It is red enough, and often grilled, and I do remember eating stand sausage in Germany. Now, just to test his theory.

Please help me with a wiener!

More to update--I've followed many of your suggestions and still haven't come upon the exact wiener. Peripatetic, my sausage was redder than that. The nice ladies at Continental Sausage Company thought it might just be a knackwurst. I tried their knackwurst and it was good, but not what I was looking for.

That was yesterday. Today, I happened to be in Montrose and consulted a nice lady behind the counter at Schreiner's. Again, the guess is the knackwurst, but while theirs was good, it was not the red beast of my memory.

I will continue looking. I'm betting the people at either the sausage place on Olympic or the folk at the hidden-behind-a-warehouse on Coldwater Canyon can help me. Otherwise, I'd better come into some money so I can journey back to Munchen.

Please help me with a wiener!

Sadly, my long-sought wiener is not the bockwurst. I went to Currywurst yesterday and ordered one, and was shocked when a gray sausage on a bun was delivered unto me. It was a fine wiener, but not what I was looking for. (also, it was cold inside.)

Google images has confirmed that a bockwurst is light grey, or sometimes orange. The thing I'm looking for was red, like kielbasa, maybe, but didn't taste like kielbasa. The search goes on.

Please help me with a wiener!

thanks so much! will check them out!

Please help me with a wiener!

thanks! That discussion was mainly about weisswurst, but the wiener I'm looking for was red and pork, I believe. I'll check the European Sausage Company on Olympic. Anyone else have any other leads?

Anyone been to Spicy BBQ recently?

I loved Spicy BBQ when I went, but I've seen much chagrin on this board about their usage of non-dairy creamer instead of coconut milk in their khao soi. Khao soi has become something of an obsession of mine, and while I live the nearby Sri Siam's and I just enjoyed Pailin, I remember like Spicy BBQ's the most. If memory serves me well, it was a huge portion, the sides were particularly good, and I appreciate the usage of bone-in chicken over just last minute drop-in's of chicken breast at other places. Are they still using the creamer? Do they use any coconut milk? And, where else can I get this delicious ambrosia?

Banh Mi in Reseda?

Maiweezy, I think you're referring Van Sandwiches, which is where I went yesterday. It was good, and at $3.50 a sandwich, was a good deal. I had the grilled pork and the grilled chicken--both fine. I always mean to venture into the world of Vietnamese cold cuts, but I'm afraid of ones that are, in fact, too livery. I'll try Sandwich Express next.

Banh Mi in Reseda?

Where can I get a good banh mi with delicious fillings in Reseda? I went to one place, a real mom and pop joint on a North-South street there, but found the chicken to be really bland. Should I go to Sandwich Express?

Best steak frites under $20

Two words: "La" and "La." I think Lala's steak frites is still under $17, and is delicious. The size of the steak is a little smaller and they've added a little side salad to the meal, but it's a great delicious deal nonetheless. It's a skirt steak, so it's different from the cut you're going to get at other places, but I prefer it for it's meatiness.

Authentic food in St. Thomas?

Does anyone know where to get authentic, Islands food in St. Thomas that is not ridiculously overpriced? This is my family's third trip to St. Thomas, which is an amazingly beautiful place to visit, but with poor options for food. Ok, not poor, but it's hard to find food that is representative of the island for dinner. During the day there's lots of options, particularly in Charlotte Amalie, ranging from trucks to sit-down places. However, at night we've mostly eaten either overpriced Euro places (Craig and Sally's) or overpriced pub food. I've never been very impressed with the European places, and while I understand the island mark-up, the quality is never up to snuff. I can't decide if this is a shortage of quality ingredients of chefs, or a deliberate attempt to take advantage of visitors who may be willing to spend money to get to the island but won't know any better about food.

Instead, I'd rather eat dinner somewhere more representative of the island. (I can get overpriced Euro food or crappy pub burgers back home.) Is Trenchtown Rock any good (even if it's Jamaican, not St. Thomasian.) Anywhere else? I'm all for the trucks near the St. John ferry, but my parents are timid. Any other options?

Please help me with a wiener!

A long time ago, I visited Munich right before Christmas. While strolling the Kristallmarkt, I encountered the most delicious sausage ever. It was red and roasted on a spit and flat-out delicious. I ate two that night and then a bunch over the next few days in Germanic Europe, even finding the ones at train station more than satisfactory.

Sadly, I have never found this wiener's equal in the United States. in fact, I'm not even sure what it's called. Net research has informed me that the traditional sausage of Munich is the weisswurst, but that's not definitely not my wiener. What is this blessed thing called? And can I find it anywhere in the burgeoning LA sausage scene?

Lunch in Little Osaka?

I stopped by Chabuya today, but I wanted chicken ramen and didn't feel like chicken/mushroom (I've never been a huge fan of mushrooms.) instead, I went to Tofuya and went with their bulgogi special, as I was afraid the tofu soup wouldn't fill me up. bad choice. Everyone else was getting the soup, while my bulgogi was just functional. I should listen to y'all more.

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Chabuya
2002 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Lunch in Little Osaka?

Little luck today as well. At the truck stop there were only 3 trucks--Holy Aioli, Calbi, and a Mexican truck. i waited too long and the line for the Holy Aioili truck was too long, and I had Mexican last night, so I resorted to Calbi. Once again, a letdown. I got the beef burrito, which was more like a salad burrito with very little beef involved. Nothing sadder than a salad burrito--as Homer Simpson once pointed out, "You don't make friends with salad." I guess the lunch gods don't want me to dine yummy this week. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Lunch in Little Osaka?

I should've listened to you. Instead, I went to Ramenya because it was closer, got the shoyu ramen with wonton, and was severely disappointed. I'm not a huge ramen fan, but mainly because I'm new to it. This bowl, though, was so bland it was gross, that it was inedible in its vapidness. I did find the trucks on my way back, so I'll hit them up tomorrow (they're a bit further down on Olympic.)

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Ramenya
11555 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

What to do with boiled chicken?

This has to be a classic debate--what do you do with the chicken meat after making chicken soup? My mother eats it cold and plain, and there's an old family recipe of frying it up in oil with onions (although, to make it more authentic I guess I could use shmaltz.) Neither of those are particularly satisfying, particularly the cold and plain stuff. blah. What do other people do with the post-soup meat?

Lunch in Little Osaka?

I'm temping this week in a pleasant corner of nowheresville, Westside, near to Little Osaka. Where should I get lunch? I'm looking to spend $10 or under (answering phones doesn't pay that well), and the town finally shooed away all the food trucks that used to congregate near Sawtelle and Mississippi. Does anyone have any good recommendations? I tried Gr/eats today and found my salmon sandwich uninteresting. Thanks!

Chocolate Almond Croissant

Finally got to try Breadbar's chocolate almond croissant. It was good, BUT NOT $7.25 GOOD! Any pastry costing $7.25 should come with cocaine inside. Will try pain du jour next.

Italian Downtown

Hi all--

The girlfriend's favorite food is Italian, and I'd like to take her out for finishing another round of grad school finals. She lives near downtown, so I was hoping for something in that area. However:

1. We are both poor, so alas, no Drago Centro. (Ideally I'd take her to Mozza every night. I have dreams of the whole hog dinner!)
2. I grew up in New England, so I'm haunted by memories of mediocre Red Sauce Italian. I feel like in the Tri-State area of 10-30 years ago, the only dining-out options people knew of were Chinese food (yep, I've seen the discussions on here about the search for East Coast Egg Rolls) or a never-ending choice of uninteresting spaghetti and meatball dinners. As a result, I'd love to find somewhere with more variety, or at least more authenticity; i.e., a bolognese sauce with ground beef, pork, veal, carrots, wine, cream, etc. as opposed to a restaurant version of spaghetti and meat sauce from the cafeteria at school growing up.

Once again, I am much obliged!

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Drago Centro
525 S. Flower St., Suite 120, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Chocolate Almond Croissant

This is an old thread of mine, but I thought I'd update. I had the chocolate almond croissant at Amandine this week--it was fine. Not anything I'd rush back for, although at $2.45 it was reasonably priced. The one at Amandine was more expensive, and nothing special as well. Will try to get to Breadbar at some point. Any other suggestions?

BBQ in McAllen

I'll be in McAllen for a week in October and am wondering where I can get some authentic BBQ. Am I wrong that McAllen isn't the epicenter of Texas BBQ? Can I still get good BBQ around McAllen? Thanks!

Good God, Sri Siam Cafe!

that's it, but they're open Wednesdays too.

Good God, Sri Siam Cafe!

I just moved back to North Hollywood (sadly) and have been to Sri Siam twice in the past week. Good God this place is amazing! I don't remember trying their more American dishes, but the Thai specialties I've had are amazing. It's one of the few places to get crunchy rice salad in LA, and theirs does not disappoint. Plus, they're really generous with the herbs that go alongside. The grilled beef salad is good and sour and full of rice-powder. But the khao soi! I kept telling myself it wasn't as good as Spicy BBQ, but then gladly shoveled spoonful after spoonful into my mouth. The beef doesn't seem to have been cooked in the soup, and the pickled vegetables aren't as good as Spicy BBQ, but the soup is just delicious. I'd ask for seconds if I could.

Next visit, I'd like to try some seafood options? I'm not big on shellfish, but does anyone have any filet or salmon suggestions?

And if you haven't been to Sri Siam, GO NOW. so good.

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Spicy BBQ
5101 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

Any Rec's for Favorite Farmer's Market Eats?

Always been satisfied by the Korean stall at the Hollywood Farmer's Market.

Casablanca Burger at Umami

Thanks Mattapoisett (let's go Pats!) cashew cheese makes sense. and yeah, I agree with other posters on these boards--Umami does make their burgers too sweet sometimes.

Casablanca Burger at Umami

I had the Casablanca Burger at the Umami on Cahuenga last night. It was good, but not spectacular. Definitely lamb-y. However, it had some sweet beige paste on it that I could not identify, which made me feel like a failed foodie. Does anyone have any clue what it was?

Also, got the Dirty Shirley Temple. It tasted like cough syrup. I do not recommend. In fact, drink-makers should stay away from making sweet cherry drinks lest people have flashbacks to sick nights in childhood.

Smoke City bbq: NOT

My parents are in town, so we tried Smoke City the other day for lunch. My dad and I shared the brisket (dry) and my mom had a turkey sandwich. I guess I have to agree with the other posters--get the moist brisket, as the dry stuff is frankly that--too dry. I kept having to add sauce and hot sauce (more towards vinegary than hot) to eat it. The flavor was good and it had good smoke, but not much char on the outside. I haven't been in years, but I remember liking Dr. Hogly Wogly's nearby more.

As for the turkey sandwich: it's just turkey on a roll. In fact, it's sliced turkey with a split roll on the side. That's it. I guess this is authentic, which is fine; just be forewarned in case you were expecting the fixings.

Total damage was $32 (pound of dry brisket, turkey sandwich, small potato salad (good), and two IBC Cream Sodas), which isn't bad for three people to eat lunch and have a little brisket left over. For dinner, it's definitely a good deal, as long as prices aren't raised.

Food Festivals 2011 in Southern California

I saw that on your page and was thinking of going!

Thanks very much for your blog. It's a great resource. I know have it bookmarked.