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Event: 4th Annual L.A.Beer Float Showdown is Coming!
Sep 14 2012
Old timey Eastside Food Bites readers might remember my report from the 2nd Annual LA Beer Float Showdown at Verdugo bar a couple of years back. Well, it’s on again! The 4th annual event will take place at Golden Road Brewery on September 29. This year, LA chefs will team up with local breweries to be crowned the master supreme beer float champions…or something like that.
We even have a dog in the fight—hometown favorites and reigning champs, Andre Guerrero and Jan Purdy (The Oinkster and Maximiliano) join Eagle Rock Brewery again. Their winning entry last year involved pig candy and bourbon ice cream.
Here’s the flyer. Get more info and tickets over at Food GPS.
Atwater Village: Sandwich & Cake at Proof Bakery
Jan 18 2012
I’ve heard great things about Proof Bakery but never the pleasure, so when a friend suggested lunch there, I said “Oooh! Sure.” I don’t get to see Atwater Village on weekdays or by sunlight too often, but since I started working from home (no more east-to-west commute!), I’ve been trying to squeeze in local lunch spots.
Proof Bakery doesn’t bowl you over on sight. The small, unassuming space is all clean lines, modern airiness and marble tables. The dessert case/counter doesn’t have Marie Antoinette-esque decadence of many bakeries these days, so there aren’t the stacks and piles of cakes and cobblers of, say, Huckleberry in Santa Monica. That said, the restrained set of offerings does hit the right sweet and savory notes—think chocolate chip cookies, cheese and chive biscuits, croissants, tarts and morning buns.
There are piles of sandwiches, however, because that’s the way Proof showcases their daily options. When I was there, there were three plates of as many varieties: prosciutto, bacon and beet. If I had it my way, I would have had the prosciutto, but pregnancy rules make it a no-no, especially since it had been sitting around at room temperature. I played it safe with the beet sandwich, but don’t feel sad for me.
Eat at Home: Super-Healthy Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie Recipe
Jan 13 2012
Life can’t be all wet burritos and pie, but you can have a chocolate breakfast smoothie pretty much every day. At least I have ever since my new blender came into my life. It’s nothing special (the blender, I mean, not the smoothie)—just a $40 machine, but it sure does make a mean breakfast smoothie.
Thus far, I’ve experimented with a couple of different concoctions. I’ve done the yogurt-oj-banana thing and the berry-banana-milk shuffle, but the one that I keep coming back to is a powerhouse blend of antioxidants, vitamin C, protein, calcium, Omega 3s, and most importantly…chocolate.
For breakfast.
Still, it’s not too sweet, and the granola I layer in gives it an earthy quality that makes you feel like you’re some health nut living in Santa Cruz or Berkeley or whatever ultra-liberal college town you’d like to imagine yourself.
Sound good? Well, here’s what you need for one smoothie:
Wet Burrito Diaries: El Huarache Azteca in Highland Park
Jan 10 2012
I’ve had a three prevalent/overwhelming cravings throughout my pregnancy: peanut butter, shredded wheat cereal and wet burritos. Of the food-obsessed trinity, the wet burrito urge is my favorite as it plays right into my blogging schemes, allowing me to “research” various versions around town. My latest and greatest discovery is the adobada burrito at Highland Park’s El Huarache Azteca Restaurante.
El Huarache is one of the most prized restaurants on York Boulevard—it’s always packed, and it’s hard to find many who will deny its superiority. As the name implies, they’re most famous for their huarache, an oblong-shaped slab of fried masa covered with cojita cheese, meat (avocado in this case because we ordered it veggie), crema, lettuce and onions. And, yes, their huaraches are good, but to me, their adobada burrito shines even brighter.
How to Eat a Buffet Brunch: A Plan of Action
Dec 20 2011
A brunch buffet is serious business. Not windpocalypse or electromagnetic field attack serious, but you know, relatively important in the moment. Let’s face it: when a sushi station, charcuterie table and five-foot pastry platter are confronting you, you need a strategy.
I realized as much when I was recently invited to sample the Sunday brunch at the Catalina Kitchen at the Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes—yes, I drove to PV (in the rain) to eat brunch. You would, too, if you saw this menu, which promised cheese boards, Italian meats, three types eggs benedict, smoked fish, Belgian waffles, gelato, etc. etc. etc.
Talk about overwhelming.
But in the end, I think I did well. I executed a three-plate plan to make sure the experience was properly exploited. Take note:
Holiday Baking that Will Make You Popular: Easy & Impressive Baklava
Dec 04 2011
My aunt Carlene is one of those natural born bakers. While I struggle to make a halfway decent cupcake or an unoffensive cookie, her baked goods always come out looking and tasting magazine-quality perfect. Seriously, when she hands me a tin of her homemade treats every Christmas, it feels like a prize.
That’s why I turned to her to help me come up with something delicious for Eat My Blog 4.0. When she suggested baklava, I was a little nervous because it looks hard, but it turned out to be easy and—dare I say—fun. Plus, baklava is one of those desserts that’s ridiculously tasty, visually stunning and just exotic enough to trick people into thinking I have enviable culinary skills. And that’s the kind of deception I’m all about.
This recipe was so simple that I think it will be my go-to this holiday season, and it might as well be yours, too. I mean, just picture yourself unveiling a plate of these flaky, golden masterpieces at a holiday party or an office potluck.
You’re going to be so popular.
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.
Downtown LA: The Pie Hole is (Deservedly) the Talk of the Town
Oct 26 2011
Everywhere I turn, The Pie Hole is in my face—food blogs, Facebook posts, IMs, texts, whispers in the hall. Okay, there are no whispers in the hall, but it does seem like everyone’s gabbing about Downtown’s latest dessert haven. And this is just its second week in business.
Intrigued and nearby, I made my way over last weekend to see what all the hype was about. I found the Pie Hole cinched into a smallish space in the Arts District, right across the street from Wurstkuche. The décor is simple and homey with a few communal picnic tables and some two-seaters, a menu handwritten on butcher paper and a small case of available treats.
The menu is small but sufficient. Listed are pies both sweet and savory, including the expected apple crumb and lemon meringue along with the more inventive peanut butter pretzel and carnitas with queso fresco. They also have a full coffee program, plus an obligatory supply of Mexican Coke.
Save the Date: 4th Annual Feria de los Moles—Puebla vs. Oaxaca
Sep 22 2011
Remember this? Last year, I had a gluttonous time at the 3rd Annual Feria de los Moles, and when I posted about it, a lot of you asked me to make sure I let you know when it came around again.
Promise kept: the 4th Annual Feria de los Moles takes place at Olvera Street on October 9th. At the all-day event, you’ll have a chance to try 13 different moles from Oaxaca and Puebla. If you’ve only had the sweet kind, you’re in for a treat—last year I had green mole for the very first time, and I was instantly a changed woman. There’s also folk dancing and live music, so it’s festive. Visit their website.
I’ll definitely be there. And if you need more inspiration, check out my post from last year.
Here’s the flyer:
-Valentina
Highland Park: Galcos Introduces White Rose Cream Soda
Aug 09 2011
If you remember, a while back I encouraged you all to attend the Soda Pop Tasting at Galco’s to support the Friends of the Southwest Museum. At the event, which was attended by about 600 people and super fun, Galco’s owner John Nese unveiled White Rose, a new cream soda bottled especially for the Highland Park “Soda Pop Stop.”
White Rose is a limited edition release (2,500) and the first to come in the “Highland Park’s Own” line, which plans to release it’s next flavor in 2012. Clad in a re-created vintage label, the cream soda pays homage to the history of Highland Park—The White Rose Springs Water Company and White Rose Soda were bottled on Figueroa Street until the late 1960s.
