martasiete's Profile
When White and Offwhite are the favorite food choice
that's cool. that combines two things a kid would love: the permission to spit their food out if they wish, and tampering with rare stuff! wow, how fun is that!? I guess that's part of what I meant when I said I'd make a big production about the meal with the food: PR, gestures, faces when I wanted to show how fantastic something was - invariably, they'd try it because they wanted to see what all the fuss was about (not, loud or obnoxious, mind you. Just enough to peak their interest and natural curiousity) and what they might be missing. I always had fun at meal time with the kids. Guess that's the bottom line for kids - if you're having fun, they'll have fun and that is contagious.
Best Tea in Los Angeles
Oh, don't just try Jin Patisserie for the chocolates (they're not really chocolate as it was explained to me - they only look like chocolates, but they do have tea in them) go there for their Tea. It's has a nice garden. I had breakfast there once. I was the only customer there at the time. The trickling water was very inviting so I stuck around and leisurely enjoyed my tea and read my book for a spell. It's the kind of place you eat and drink in, not hang out in like say, Peete's or Starbucks. Things change over quickly on Abbott Kinney, but if this place is still there, and they were so good that I can't imagine they'd be gone, for tea lovers, this is a must. Fantastic Teas!! Amazing combinations - you gotta try this one.
When White and Offwhite are the favorite food choice
I don't know if this will even work with every child, but I sit with the kids, serve some for the kids, and eat my meal with them. But when I eat my veggies, I make it a production - as if I've just had the best thing in the world, a fun experience, so as they are watching me have such a great time eating my veggies, or 'strange' food, they get curious and try it and are surprised when they like it. This has workded in getting them to eat, and continue liking, Tofu, Hot and Sour, Indian food (the green stuff, red stuff, and yellow stuff) broccoli, peas, pesto and others 'weird'' stuff ...it's fun too. I hope it works.
If you had to pick one neighborhood in LA to live in for best dining options, where would it be?
Freway access = good restaurants? I missed math class that day. This thread is becoming circular, like all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne...
Every town has access. The question is, what happens once you're on it/in it AND is the dining destination worth it. Traffic-locked areas can't or shouldn't be excluded from having a 'best dining option' merely because they're traffic-locked. That line of reason would exclude those areas as an option to people who, 1) don't care, 2) don't have to deal with the traffic issue. As we have seen, many can walk or do an in-town shuttle or some other thing - it's all relative. What I've taken from this thread is that every town/district/city in L.A. county (even ones I would not have considered before i.e. anyplace east of the 60 and 605 fwys), has a gem or two or three - worth, yes, L.A. traffic.
Personally, I've been willing to deal with Customs officials to get to a good meal;talk about traffic-locked, but man was it worth it. If traffic is the criteria, I'll be having a less than 'my ideal' dining experience a greater part of the year, relegating dining to 'special occasions.'
Looking for Tamales and Tapas in SF
I haven't had a chance to follow up or report back on this event, but did anyone else make it? ( I found this link from Rancho Gordo about the event http://ranchogordo.typepad.com/rancho_gordo_experiments_/2007/04/another_taste_o.htm)
I was worried my plan would be literally rained on. It rained most of the days I was up there but I had a chance to go to this event, and stayed there for quite a while. It was a lot of fun. After several days of rain, as a visitor to SF for the week, I was disappointed that I was getting so much rain - but that day, the gods must have meant for me to get what I was looking for - good tamales. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location; the Fort Mason marina is such a wonderful piece of land and well used. I envy San Franciscans for it!
The event had a collection of really delicious and different tamale vendors. I even got to taste tamales from a vendor known to everyone as The Tamale Queen (her tamales were voted People's Choice) who came from Oakland. I wasn't disappointed with the tamales from Chef Mateo - he uses locally grown, and raised, organic products to make his Yucatan style tamales. I was impressed with the caliber of the judges too. I suppose if I were going to have my food judged, I'd want someone who knows about food to judge it. They had two chefs (executive chefs, one from the Culinary Academy and another from Ramekins) and a third chef who with his own catering business - all three specialize in Mexican and Latin American foods, flavors and regions, so they know their stuff. Two prizes were awarded by the judges: best new world style tamales, which was awarded to Chef Granados' for his use of new world ingredients in a traditional Yucatan style Cochinita Pibil tamal, and the other went to Veronica Salazar, of El Huarache Loco, for her traditional Mole tamales. All the food and wine was delicious. I was not disappointed with Ceja Vineyard wines. If any of you haven't tried them, you ought to visit them in the Carneros region. Pedro Ceja was on hand to talk about the Ceja wines. He is a very warm and knowledgeable. Their wines paired beautifully with the tamales there to taste. Anyone close enough to the Napa/Sonoma area should visit them (another thing I envy San Franciscans for - their proximity to the wine region). Another vendor I enjoyed was Steve Sandos of Rancho Gordo. He was a perfect match for this event! As I understood it, he also goes to the Ferry Plaza Building (which I visited while in SF - yes, Envy!) He has some of the most delicious beans - not just any beans, but Heirloom beans. What's the diff? Try them! You'll taste and feel the difference immediately. I absolutely LOVE beans and anyone who is as knowledgeable and passionate about beans is my kind of guy! He had some of the best beans I've had to taste, which I later mixed with the salsa from a vendor there who makes a delicious salsa called Mrs. A's Salsa Buena - it was delicious with a bit of a smoky taste - not your typical salsa and very delicious. Mind you, everything was just to taste, but with everything there to taste, I really got to make a meal out of it all. I was so impressed with the Rancho Gordo beans that I visited his website to see what else he has and this guy is a busy man! Anyway, take a look at website and what he had to say about the event and his experience
http://ranchogordo.typepad.com/rancho_gordo_experiments_/2007/04/another_taste_o.html
The artists were fantastic, the music was great - and the day was beautiful. What more can a visitor, or anyone for that matter, ask for. Ya'll in San Francisco have a gem of an event with this Taste of Tamales by the Bay. I can't wait to see what they do next year - I would definitely do this again!
Did anyone else go? I'd love to hear your thoughts about it.
If you had to pick one neighborhood in LA to live in for best dining options, where would it be?
With good traffic you could be anywhere. Who wants to plan an outing on a crap shoot. Chino Hills is outstanding for what it is - a quiet community (the sunsets are almost as comforting as Santa Barbara County - if you've ever been in SB county dusk to sunset, you know what I mean), but it is NOT L.A.. Come on now. It's L.A. County and no one said L.A. is the End All, Be All. Though I've never been there myself, I've heard a lot of excellent stuff about Johnny Carino's (on Grand) from people I respect when it comes to food and dining experiences. But that's about as good as it gets, unless you do the chain restaurant thing, or head out. The people I know who live there dine outside of Chino Hills and neighboring areas for the good stuff. If you close your eyes real tight, tap your heels three times, and have a taste for adventure, you can be anywhere you want to be - traffic be damned.
If you had to pick one neighborhood in LA to live in for best dining options, where would it be?
oh, nooooo...two Coffee Beans in your hood...I feel so sad for you.
But look on the bright side, at least it's not three. I hope things get better. Oh, and Lulu's makes up for that a bit.
Beef Tamale at Roosevelt Tamale Parlor
They need to kill the beef tamale - get rid of it. Scrap the tamale menu -- start truly fresh. You carry over things that were great, that make sense. What they have currently doesn't make sense. Visually, that place has potential.
Paso Robles Sangiovese?
Rusak, Santa Ynez, had a very nice one two years ago when I was there. I wasn't crazy about the Zenaida Sangiovese when I was there. I wonder if Pipestone (Paso Robles) is producing any - their wines are stellar.
Best Quesadillas in L.A.!
Real mexican 'sour cream' isn't thick. You're getting regular sour cream. Mexican sour cream is crema and it's runny, with a slight sweetness to it.
Need help for mexican/seafood catering wedding in June
Try contacting Mi Cacita in Bell, CA. They have some great Chefs (Ramiro and Jaime) and do real mexican- not the average stuff everybody is used to. I can't see why they wouldn't take on a catering gig. I'll bet they'd do up Ceviche nicely.
La Casita Mexicana
4030 Gage Ave - map
Bell, CA 90201
323.773.1898
Beef Tamale at Roosevelt Tamale Parlor
yeah, can you believe it. We had to know what the deal was. It was a novelty. We had to see if it could really be done so my mom bought some (my mom was new to the U.S. and the notion of tamales in a can intrigued her - so we tried them -- once.
I tried Spam too.
Beef Tamale at Roosevelt Tamale Parlor
I tried All-Star while up there - not impressed. I tried Primavera and agree -- they're a play off the traditional but very, very delicious and is respectful to the tradition and ingredients.
need mexican restaurant on way to idyllwild from LAX
For very tasty food, fast- paced service, old time mexican joint very popular with the locals (and with the media - even Huel Howser's been there and did a program on them), they El Tepeyac. If you're coming from L.A.X - you can get on the 60 fwy (Pomona) and get off at Lorena or if coming off the 10 (San Bernardino) you'd get off at Soto - you can mapquest it, either way, get to Evergreen, just above Cesar Chavez Blvd. If you go during the day, it won't be so busy. I recommend that you go to the 'orders to go' window just to take a look at the how fast these cooks are whipping up the stuff and how simple the dishes are. If you're not a cheese fan, stay away from the cheese dishes because the mexican custom prevails here "mejor que sobre, que falte" better that there be abundance than not enough (this is true with all the dishes). It's a fun place. As with all places, some people will say it's much a do about nothing, but it's exceptionally tasty and an OLD favorite. I think you'll be pleased. There's another place on the same street that I have heard nothing but good stuff about but I can't think of the name - i've never been to the second one myself. Good luck.
Beef Tamale at Roosevelt Tamale Parlor
I'm stunned by the positive comments about the tamales in this place. I was steered there during my tamale hunt weekend there (I had to fabulous weekends in SF for a family reunion). If what they serve now is better than before, I shudder to think what was being served before. I too tried the ground beef - and it was the worst of the lot. I tried several different ones, hoping one would be better than the next. All were bloody awful. The texture of the meat in the ground beef (what the &*^$!, I said initially) was the texture of Dinty Moore's canned tamales, the sauce was flat and tasteless. I threw them all away. Never had such bad tamales before. The decor is nice, the color scheme is awfully nice - the old pictures, charming, but if you want good tamales, don't bother trying theirs. Really not worth it.
Is Trader Joe's Slipping? [moved from L.A. board]
Maybe you can answer this question: What's up with the checkout counter design at Trader Joe's??? Every single last one of them has the oddest design. The angle is all wrong (they're often at angles for crying out loud) and you get locked in - I've not had that experience in other stores. I love TJ's - just because it's TJ's. But parking and checkout counter design keep me from shopping there unless it's the middle of the day, I ditched work and I have nothing but time on my hands.
Inland Empire Dining ( or lack of )
ah, hope springs eternal...god bless you.
That area is bone dry when it comes to good food.
If you're willing to make the schlep, I love JoJo's is not bad in Chino Hills. If you really want to try good pizza, make a day of it and go to Larchmont district http://www.yelp.com/biz/egU533_tWCiKYA_2vVGFsw
Hope this is helpful...
Looking for Tamales and Tapas in SF
I can't even imagine what that would taste like. Isn't the avocado leaf bitter? This is new to me. I've never seen or heard of anything like this in ELA or any part of LA - I'll have to check around. I love avocados, and love them warm when they're in my burritos and other dishes - but never thought of them, or the leaf, as a tamal ingredient.
Looking for Tamales and Tapas in SF
Thanks for the topic links Robert - great stuff. I've done some homework, checked out the tamale tasting event that's happening at fort mason - that is definitely going into my plans. One of the threads mentions a yucatan tamale maker in healdsburg. Reading the description of his tamales made me hungry (and it's not lunchtime yet!) looks like he'll be at this Taste of tamales by the bay event. Thanks Robert.
Horchata Anyone
No! don't cook the rice! If you cook the rice, then you'll have to make arroz con leche (which isn't so bad, rice pudding, but it won't do for horchata) and that is difficult to drink and won't go down as easily on a hot day.
Tom Wilson Oranges at Andronico
wow -- never heard of these. I'll have to try them soon.
Help! Red wine lover needs to switch to white
I'm really hooked right now on Chumeia Chardonnays. I'm partial to red wines, mostly Syrah, melbec's and zin's but lately have come across this wine from Paso Robles - it's full bodied, it's hearty, buttery (in a good way) and smooth - unlike many 'eggy' Chard's I've had. Oh, did I mention the legs...it's got legs forever. It's a wonderful wine. Chumeia winery is in Paso Robles - check it out.
SF - Silver Clouds on Lombard ... happy hour & tequilla?
oh god ...the only thing missing in that description was low shirts, open collars and plenty of gold. I think I'll pass.
Tamales Chiapaneco (SD) Report
I forgot to mention that the tamales at Cinco Puntos are traditional Mexican tamales but they are SO good. I've never been disappointed.
In terms of different, I haven't found anything really different though there is the Mama's Hot Tamales that I will check out soon and venture into the different tamales they have on the menu. Oh, forgot to mention Tamara's Tamales in Culver City - she had a chocolate tamale - I was prepared to hate it but it was so good. She has at least 19 tamales on her menu.
even tamales de Epasote.
(I know. aren't I the lucky one to have Cinco Puntos, nopales and a parking lot! - this makes me happy)
Chenin blanc with Italian food?
Ambrose -you might want to add Chumeia Chardonnay (I know, I know, but you gotta trust me on this one) to your list to try. http://www.chumeiavineyards.com/chumeia/page/story.jsp
Not-to-be-missed Food Festivals?
I've been to the Indio Tamale Festival. Crowds not being my favorite thing in open spaces, I can't recommend it wholeheartedly. But will for the tamale experience. You have to try the variety - and there have some serious tamales and serious competitors for that coveted 1st place prize for bragging rights. I had some really good ones, but alos had a few bad ones. But as festivals go, this one was a good food experience - didn't care for the crowd. I'd love to have something like this but with a built in crowd control, not open air.
Have been wanting to make it to the Gilroy Garlic Festival for ages - I heard they even have garlic ice cream. I honestly would love to try that.
Tamales Chiapaneco (SD) Report
My favorite - because they are so consistently good - is at this little joint called Cinco Puntos on Cesar Chavez and Lorena in East L.A. . They also make some of the best Nopales I have ever had (aside from mama's that is) and fresh hand made tortillas. One of my favorite things to do when I get the craving is to get some of their tortilla's, nopales and queso fresco and sit in the parking lot and whip out a few 'burrito' de nopales - a warm, simple hot off the press lunch.
Looking for Tamales and Tapas in SF
Thanks Robert. I love the Bocadillo menu. It looks like a place I can get comfortable in. Do you know anything about Tacubaya for tamales? Have heard good things about them.
Piqueo's (new) Peruvian in Bernal Heights
Definitely will try this on my trip up there next week - sounds lovely. That Flan de Camote sounds delicious.
