TASTE: Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellar

After much hesitation at ponying up the more than pennies one of the LA Times/Food & Wine Events, we decided that life was too short and delicious to waste on ramen. Out of the handful of themed events, the Secrets from the Kitchen & Cellar seemed to provide the most "bang for our buck" samples chef demos and panels. Off to the Beverly Hilton today ready for bites and booze!

Top Cheftestants and Food Network Stars were well represented in demos, sampling booths, and panels. Tastings were not as spectacular as expected from the some of TV’s cooking competition shows. That’s right, I’m calling you out Colicchio and Conant! The food: the pig and duck were well represented and among the tastiest samples of the day. Highlights included Orecchiette with Lamb Ragout from Osteria La Buca, bites from Ray’s and Starks Bar, Enoteca Drago, the Green and Blacks chocolate sample booth, and biggest suprise of all, the off menu slider from the Counter!

Drinks were available aplenty as well with rows of wines and specialty cocktails. W e answered multiple inquiries regarding our Mint and basil limeades from Veev Acai Spirit booth. You could really get sloshed at this thing!

Overall, some great eats, sips, entertaining cooking demos and good celebrity chef spotting/stalking opportunity. Definitely a delicious day!

Olallieberry Pie!

On a recent road trip, we stopped in Cambria, a quaint little town along California's coast. Though it's a beautiful town, there aren't a lot of food options so we looked to Yelp to help us out. One of the must eats listed was the Olallieberry Pie from Linn's Restaurant. The pie was featured as Marc Summer's pick on the Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate: Sliced. I'm not sure how much I trust the former host of the slime time show, Double Dare, but he has been on a host on the Food Network for many years and he is an OCD sufferer, an almost formidable trait in my eyes.

Like me, I'm sure you're wondering what an Olallieberry is. It's a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry. A loganberry is a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. A youngberry is a cross between a blackberry and a dewberry. A dewberry is related to a blackberry but resembles a raspberry. After all that, it's essentially it's a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry.

The olallieberry pie a la mode was extremely delicious. Though baked, the berries retained their form and did not become mushy making it the perfect mixture of sweetness and tartness. The crust was the perfect crust, not too flaky or too soft. The slice is not the same without a scoop of vanilla ice cream so be sure to order it heated with a scoop. If you're ever craving a pick me up on a drive along the CA coast, stop and get a yummy slice of pie.

LA Food Fest

As all the of LA fled or stayed in during Carmageddon weekend, we ventured to the Pasadena Rose Bowl for the second annual LA Food Fest. The impressive line up included trendy LA food trucks as well as a number of established eateries. The judges for the best dishes included Michael Voltaggio from Top Chef, Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold, and Mayor Antonio Villarigoso (who was supposed to be staying home to set an example of how to avoid and prevent Carmageddon chaos). Although we didn't quite agree with the judges, here are some of our faves and disappointments:

Border Grill Truck's Quinoa Fritters - I've been looking forward to these ever since I saw Mary Sue make these on Top Chef Masters. They lived up to the hype. The sauce gave the right amount of kick to the crunchy fritter.

Ramen Jinya + Robata Jinya's Ramen - All ramen = yum. The noodles were the perfect firmness and the broth had just the right salt.

Cacao Mexicatessen 's Venison Chorozo Verde - Venison tacos sound a bit odd but this one was sitting on a refreshing slice of jicama rather than a oily taco. On a hot day, it was just what I needed.

Tione's Quality Meats Lamb Shoulder and Grilled Peaches - It was nice that a stand put out a dish where they really thought about pairing ingredients together to create a flavorful mouthful.

Other standouts were Maggie's Meat & Breat Choripan, Great Balls on Tires Ballywood meatball, Mo-chica + Picca's Peruvian Cau Cau, and Sabina Bandera's Sea Urchin Tostada

Some disappointments were Flying Pig for not showing up, Frysmith's cold and bland Poutin, and the winner of the whole show Mision 19's Pacific Oyster Asada with Chicharron Short Rib, Serrano Ponzu Butter, and Lemongrass foam. Normally, this sounds right up my alley and I was pretty excited to eat it, but this was one of the saltiest things I ever ate in my life. I'm a bit surprised it won the competition. Maybe I had a bad batch.

All in all, it was an overeating extravaganza, but all worth it. I even got sauce on my toe.

Poutine!

What is Poutine? Doesn’t sound particularly tasty by name alone. In fact, the name was originally used as slang for “mess”. Look beyond your trepidations at the plateful of french fries and cheese curds, covered in gravy (or whatever else your imagination can conjure up), and experience the deliciousness of this Canadian comfort fare!

I had poutine for the first time in a tiny hole in the wall during a freezing winter vacation in Quebec City. It’s the combination of three of the most comforting foods on their own, and I’ve been since on the search for the best poutine stateside.

I read a while back about a French Canadian restaurant called Soleil that was beginning a service of poutine. Not only were they going to have poutine on their menu, they would serve the traditional plus 8 other variations! Yes please! We settled on the “Poutine Celine”, fries with curds and Bolognese sauce and a twist on the original, “Poutine Christine”, Fries with curds and a cognac peppercorn sauce. The fries were perfectly crispy and didn’t collapse under the gravy or Bolognese sauce. Both were a deliciously comforting treat and I can’t wait to go back for the others. 2 down, 7 to go!

Soleil Westwood
1386 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024

A little Poutine history (courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Hot Cocoa Quest Continues With... Jumba Juice?

Mammoth. Milk. Disneyland. All places that have proven themselves to have amazing hot cocoa. But Jumba Juice? Although it doesn't rank among the greats it does rank amongst the 'good' in the quest for California's finest hot cocoa.

I came across Jamba Juice's hot cocoa by chance. When I bought a smoothie one day I recieved a coupon for a free hot drink. So why not try their hot cocoa? I was not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised when it was chocolatey and sweet. Just the way I like it. I didn't have to add sugar or sweetener, although be warned that it did not come with whipped cream. Still, it was better than I expected and quite pleasant.

Especially after chocolate store Leonida's closed, which was my go to hot cocoa in Santa Monica. Ironically Jumba Juice now vacates where Leonida's used to be. As there is a Jumba Juice just a block and a half from my office, and my apartment, they are my go to for a nearby hot cocoa. But the quest for the best hot cocoa continues...

International Malt Confectionary Battle

Welcome to our first taste test! Our blind-folded mission to seek out the most delicious in our favorite snacks. Our international panel of bloggers have come to discover that not only are all snack foods made the same, there exists a sometimes subtle, often times significant difference in the consistency and tastes of the same products from different countries! One of our first test features the malted milk ball, more specifically commonwealth confectionary treat: the Malteaser. The US equivalent of the Whopper was also brought in the underdog challenger.



This particular taste test took place on 2 coasts between 4 countries and 7 taste testers. New Zealand vs. Canada vs. UK vs. US. National pride was at stake!

Results as follows:
Josh - Canada
Lucy - Canada
Spoon - USA
Steph - USA
Gabe - Canada
Neal - Canada
Jo-Anne - UK



Apparently the great white north emerged victorious in this test, and all but Steph chose a malt ball origin other than their own. The shortly post-expiration date of the New Zealand Malteaser did not appear to be a factor in it's performance here. Next up: Doritos, Tic Tacs, Digestives and ???

Giada's Carbonara

Giada, she can do no wrong. Neither can you when you cook from her amazing book, “Giada's Kitchen”. Our search for deliciousness led us to Giada's Carbonara (pg. 115). First of all, who doesn't love a carbonara? Pasta + peppery cheesy basil aioli sauce + asparagus + ad hoc pancetta = ridiculously delicious. What's the only thing that could improve such a masterpiece? A fried egg of course! Slightly off course from the traditional carbonara with the sunny side up egg on top instead of raw egg mixed inside the pasta made it even more delicious in this eater’s opinion. Revisiting this book after it’s been sitting on my shelf for a year reminded how everything Giada makes is flawlessly simple and fabulous. Grab this book stat! You'll want to make everything in it, and you should! Yum!

Recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/giadas-carbonara-recipe/index.html

It's a flag! It's a cake! It's delicious!

It's our nation's birthday, the time to fire up those grills and light up the skies. Happy Birthday America! After filling up on burgers, hot dogs and endless savory bbq goodies, we need something sweet to bring us back to balance. Enter flag cake! Our nation's holiday gives us the chance to be extra festive with our desserts. What's great is that the ingredients are minimal, and the results masquerade it's quick and simple construction! America! It's what's for dessert!

Bundaberg Ginger Beer - Carbonated Deliciousness!

Diet Coke, Perrier, Sprite Zero, Sierra Mist - all amazing tasting bubbly beverages that are refreshing on a hot summer day. But there's nothing quite like Bundaberg Ginger Beer, a delicious sugary carbonated beverage with a gingery taste (and it's non alcoholic by the way).

Bundaberg Ginger Beer is found at all good grocery stores and convenience stores in New Zealand (and Australia, where the beverage hails from), but I had not found it in the US until last week when I found it in one of my favourite stores, Cost Plus World Market.

Cost Plus has many other tasty foreign treats which you will be hearing more about in posts to come. In the mean time pick up some delicious Bundaberg Ginger Beer from a Cost Plus near you, for the mere sum of $5.95 for four bottles. What a good deal. And what a delicious day!

www.worldmarket.com to find the closest Cost Plus store.

Hot Cocoa: the magical and the downright bleeegh...

Hot Cocoa… brings back memories of it’s warming, comforting rescue after trekking through snowy blizzards as a child… I imagine for someone who didn’t grow up in Glendale. As an adult, we’ve found it transformed from an instant powder beverage to perfect après snow creamy treat, but reader be warned: All cocoas are not created equal! So welcome to the first installment of Gabe and Spoon’s ongoing search for the world’s best hot cocoa. Eagle Lodge, located near our usual dwellings at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, sits as current reigning cocoa champion. Perfectly hot, steamy and sweet, topped with a generous dollop of equally amazing canned whip cream. (note to find brand and stock a barrel). It comes from the machine too, which brings us to the importance of a good cocoa producing machine! If it looks dodgy, so will your cocoa!

And where there are winners, there lays a anthill of those that don’t measure up. Our featured loser actually exists on the same mountain! Cocoa consumer beware! A last mountain souvenir forage led us to McCoy’s Station, at the mountain base Village. The friendly woman at the store described how her cocoa formula was different, and we were intrigued. Bad mistake! The cocoa was bland, too milky and not even worth the calories. The mediocre whip and chocolate drizzle could do nothing to improve it. Needless to say, it went to the circular bin outside after a few sips!

The hot cocoa on the mountain is not equal in deliciousness, so choose wisely. The cocoa challenge is on. Disneyland is apparently a worthy contender, so stay tuned!

Orlando Gummy Worms

When it comes to jelly candies (or lollies as we say in New Zealand) gummy worms are among my favourites! Fellow blogger Spoon brought some back to LA for me from Florida and they were fat and juicy. Although not as good as my favourite gummy candy, snakes or gummy bears by Haribo, I didn't have a problem eating half the packet. You will soon hear of my love for Haribo I'm sure! And I think there may be a snakes/gummy worms taste test in the near future... stay tuned!