Archive
for November, 2011
Save the Date: Eat My Blog 4.0 in Pasadena
Nov 30 2011
Last year I participated in Eat My Blog and had a great time-I even made some Peppermint “Faux-reos”. This year, I’m even more excited because the charity event will be held in at Pita Jungle in Pasadena.
As always, the “blogger-hosted bake sale” will raise money for the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. Since 2009, Eat My Blog has raised over $12,000.
This year, 50 local bloggers and restaurants will be participating, including eastside favorites Xoia, who will be dishing up Coconut Milk Tres Leches Cakes, and Good Girl Dinette. Some of my favorite blogs will also be baking: Dishing Up Delights, Fashion Intel, Diana Takes a Bite and Gastronomy Blog among others. Me? Well, I’ll be making some baklava-I’m doing a test run this weekend and will post some pics next week.
I hope to see you there. And in the meantime, check out the official Eat My Blog website and photos from last year’s even below.
[cincopa AwLAGaaUH4EX]
-Valentina
Highland Park: Maximiliano Brings “Kinda Old School Italian” to York Blvd.
Nov 14 2011
If you revile “the hipster”, don’t worry. You aren’t doomed to confront swarms of them at Maximiliano. Even though Highland Park’s new Italian restaurant, with its modern decor and valet stand, sits a little conspicuously on the 99-Cent-Store end of York Boulevard, it still manages to attract a mixed-bag crowd and not look (or feel) ridiculous.
Attribute that to the fact that owner Andre Guerrero, also responsible for The Oinkster in Eagle Rock, isn’t some carpetbagger restaurateur—he grew up in Glassell Park and seems to have nothing but love and keen understanding for LA’s northeast corner. Consequently, Maximiliano, from menu to waiter, brims with authenticity.
The tagline for the menu at Maximiliano is “kinda old school Italian”. Translation: Guerrero is doing here what he’s known to do best, which is take accessible (Italian-American, in this case) favorites and give them upgraded oomph. For instance, the Meatballs Pomodoro starter looks like your basic meatballs in red sauce, but these are made with a mix of veal, beef, pork and pancetta for juicy, fork-slides-through-like-butter results.
This extra effort also comes to play with the pasta. According to our waiter, all but one of the pastas is made in house, which was evident with the spaghetti and mussels special we tried. Cooked al dente, the spaghetti was able to stand up to spicy chorizo and a smoky tomato broth that we made sure to soak up with our pizza crust.
Eagle Rock: Wet Burritos Happen at Taco Spot
Nov 08 2011
There comes a time in every life when only a wet burrito will do. Sometimes you just have to give in to the cheesy-saucy meltiness. It’s useless to resist.
My most recent wet burrito surrender happened at the hands of Taco Spot in Eagle Rock. Their Vegetarian Burrito, mojado style, satisfied because it met my most crucial requirement: the cheese and sauce were plentiful but didn’t overwhelm, and the sauce was thick enough that it didn’t create a watery, soggy mess. Other pluses included a whole wheat tortilla, black beans and plenty of guacamole. Of course, I ordered it without rice, which I cannot tolerate in any burrito of mine.
That’s all.
UPDATE: The owner of Taco Spot, Bret Schoenhals, wrote to me and told me that the sauces are made from scratch! Very nice.
-Valentina
Taco Spot
2006 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles,CA 90041
Event: Creative Seeds-An Exploration of Hunger
Nov 05 2011
Starting Monday, Downtown LA’s Cornerstone Theater will host Creative Seeds, a two-week event all around LA that brings together artists, food activists, farmers, chefs, food critics and thought leaders to explore a wide array of hunger issues.
I’m especially honored (and totally humbled) to be included in the November 15th panel, which includes Jonathan Gold, Good Food’s Evan Kleiman and Elina Shatkin of LA Weekly. Our panel will be held at the Bootleg Theater in Historic Filipino Town from 12-2 and will be hosted by performance artist and writer Luis Alfaro-the topic is “What do different generations of food critics hunger for?“
Other panel topics include:
How do we get food to people that are hungry?
How does our relationship with farmers shape our relationships with hunger and with food?
How are culture, ethnicity and class linked to experiences of hunger and fulfilment?
From multinational corporations to the corner store, what are the links between access, food choices, and money?
There’s a lot more too. Check out the program schedule and book tickets (it’s FREE!) to the stuff that interests you because seats are limited.
See you there!
-Valentina
Atwater Village: LA’s Craft Beer Scene Grows with Golden Road Brewing
Nov 03 2011
A big downside to being pregnant is that you can’t down beers. This fact can be torture if, say, you get invited to a brewery, where the beer is free flowing. This very thing happened to me a few weeks back when I was asked to attend Golden Road Brewing’s grand opening. Good thing I had my brother, who agreed to be my beer-guzzling proxy, in tow.
Golden Road, a massive three-building affair located in an industrial section of North Atwater Village, is the latest addition to Tony Yanow’s growing northeast LA beer/food empire, which includes Tony’s Darts Away in Burbank and the recently opened Mohawk Bend in Echo Park. It’s also his attempt to fill a gaping hole in LA’s craft beer production, specifically of the “world class” variety. Currently, only the actual brewery is operating, but a brewpub with 40 taps and a full, vegan-friendly menu will open soon.
