7 posts tagged “food”
Blog meme from Very Good Taste via News from the Flip Front. Even though I eschew meat these days for the most part, I've tried most of the items on this list. Why have I never had currywurst? Is it too late to rectify this now, and can it be accomplished at The Red Lion Tavern, I wonder.
- Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
- Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
- Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
- Optional extra: Post a comment at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp 9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big MacMeal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Yesterday, I was at The Grove, picking up some potions at Kiehl's and some other necessities from the shops (no, not shoes at Nordstrom! Don't judge!), when I got kind of hungry and decided to grab something to take back to the office from Morels. I for some reason remembered crab cakes on their menu, but when I actually looked it over, there weren't any. (Drat!) I guess the times that I've been, I've really only ever had the mussels with pommes frittes. I didn't feel like eating mussels at my desk though. The thing that was calling out to me (besides a cinnamon-sugar rimmed sidecar they mix up at Morels, which I resisted) was the quiche: yummy, easily transportable, non-messy food. The only kind they had, though, was quiche lorraine, which, of course, has bacon in it (or sometimes ham). I hemmed and hawed, but eventually submitted to the bacon-filled quiche.
Omg, it was good!
That's the first bit of bacon I've had in a year.* As I was eating my food, I suddenly found myself semi-seriously conjuring ways of fitting bacon into my all-but-seafood vegetarian diet. (Pigs like to swim, right?) Ultimately, I got right back on the wagon, though. Today, for example, I had lunch at Vegan Glory -- basil leaves w/ tofu chicken. Before you, "Ewww!" you should try it; not even approximately tasting like chicken, but it's good all the same.
*Not counting the bacon-flavored exotic chocolate bar that I had a few weeks ago. Had bought it well in advance of Valentine's Day, only to have no one to actually bestow it upon. (See below.) As a kind of strange punishment, I ate it myself. ('That'll show me/him!') It was way too sweet for my taste, but I appreciated the salty bite of the bacon with the milk chocolate. I'm just more of a dark chocolate kind of a girl. How characteristically bitter-sweet of me, I know; but really, I've had that preference since childhood. Worth a try though. Best in small nibbles.
The girls and I headed out for Eagle Rock this afternoon in search of brunch at Larkin's. It was only alright, which is damning in a city of superior weekend brunch options. The mood set by Larkin's was fine -- a converted old craftsman style house, friendly waitstaff -- but the food left something to be desired. I think it might've been soul.
Now, Larkin's is a restaurant that touts itself as a soul-infused sort of establishment. Soul food for the vegetarian hipster set, if you will. I applaud their simple menu (chose any three from a short list of menu items), but I wanted more panache in the presentation and frankly more flavor in the food.
The french toast, thick slabs of sourdough encrusted with corn meal, sugar and cinnamon, was really first rate, but everything else on my plate -- and my brunching companions' plates -- was only just "meh." Scrambled eggs that were a distressingly grayish hue and seasoned w/ slightly too much salt by the cook. My vegetarian sausage patties were undercooked and mushy at the center. The coffee -- both the decaf and the regular -- was burnt, and needed some serious doctoring to become palatable.
The lunch and dinner menus look more inspired and tempting. I'd be willing to give Larkin's another chance at some other time of the day on another day of the week; Sunday brunch is sacred.
Larkin's Restaurant
1546 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
EaterLA is reporting that überkitsch, Tyrolean bierhall, Lowen Brau Keller is likely closing at the end of the month. This is very sad news, indeed. If you haven't been inside this time-warp of a restaurant, rush over and experience the place at least once before it's nothing more than a memory. Spaten on tap. Delicious German food: various wursts, schnitzel, tasty sauerkraut, a very good kartoffelnsalat and a geschmackvoll beet salad. It's not such a vegetarian friendly place, but there is a farmer's plate that caters to those who abstain. Plus, their potato pancakes with applesauce are mighty tasty. Finish off with strudel. Get ready for sensory overload from the baroque Austrian decor that covers every available square inch of the place, and also get ready for a somewhat surly and mercurial waitress and a chef who tends to send food out on her own sweet schedule. But these, too, are 'authentic' in their own way. I'm going to miss this place.
Lowen Brau Keller
3211 Beverly Blvd (1 1/2 blks east of Hoover)
Open till around 11 Mon-Sat. Closed Sundays.
For my friend Christine's birthday, we went out for all-girls brunch at Square One Dining. I had been hearing about this neighborhood place for some time, and listening to Evan Kleiman's Good Food show yesterday on KCRW, I was reminded of its much vaunted tastiness and proximity. Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold was extolling its virtues in his run down of best places for bacon dishes in Los Angeles. Even though I'm vegetarian these days, I confess: sometimes I do still miss bacon. And, I know my friends like (read: love) it, so we settled in for brunch with whetted appetites.
On weekends only, they make a scrumptious and impossibly moist maple-pecan coffee cake, which Devon ordered with a pair of poached eggs, toast, side salad and some rashers of that sinfully good looking, artisinal Nueske's of Wisconsin bacon. This bacon appeared to be everything I had been expecting it to be: dark slabs of maple-y goodness in very thick-cut slices. It was almost enough to make me surrender to the bacon. I didn't, though. Christine ordered the baked frittata, which had all kinds of yummy things in it, including bits of the bacon and came with another kind of toast. I splurged and got the poached eggs with smoked salmon, served over the most amazingly flaky and crisp potato pancakes ever and drizzled generously with hollandaise. I got the greens on the side to cut some of the richness (and was glad I did), though you could also
The staff is friendly and efficient. The interior dining area is bright and cheerful in a modern way, but on the small side. They do have a good sized patio in back, which is where we were seated. I think I'd opt for indoors next time, though, to avoid flies and the sun. It could be shadier. They need more foliage back there instead of just umbrellas. Even though the place is hipster central, it only took about 20 minutes for us to get a table during the brunch rush. Not bad at all. Far less impacted than HOME, S&W Country Diner, The Griddle or Doughboys (all favorites of mine) during weekend brunch. I can't wait to go back!
Square One Dining
4854 Fountain Ave. (@ Catalina, right behind the Scientology compound)
323.661.1109
Open for Breakfast and Lunch only.
I adored this film; Ratatouille is smart and sweet and relentlessly charming. You probably haven't felt this sympathetic towards rats since The Secret of NIMH. Even the silly French accents are endearing, though Janeane Garofalo's tested the limits of the slack I was willing to give. As always with a Pixar project, the visual details -- from the huge matte backdrops of Paris down to the tiniest reflections in a copper pot -- are seen to with astonishing care and attention. Remy's soulful, cognac-colored eyes will melt your heart, and his passion for food will whet your appetite. Don't go to the theatre hungry!
Disney-Pixar have won me back after last summer's silly Cars, which didn't even entice me into the theatres. This may be my favorite of theirs, followed closely by Finding Nemo. I'm already salivating for the deluxe edition DVD.
These cookies that Devon and I submitted to the Cookie Contest at the Atwater Village Street Fair on Sunday (6.10) may not have taken first place (these ones, baked by Mrs. Atwater Village Newbie, did), but they are delish, and worth sharing the recipe with you. With our sandwich cookies, we knew we wouldn't win "Best Classic" (the person who baked the Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip cookies took that one away) and we were down to the wire assembling the things the morning of the contest, so we were pretty sure we wouldn't be taking home "Best Decorated" either. However, the delicate and crisp chocolate wafers surrounding the creamy orange-flavored butter-cream filling was a flavor-texture combination we felt confident would compete strongly in the "Best Tasting" category. Oh well. I guess grapefruit is in this year. And congratulations to the winner and her Pink Lady cookies.
Here's the recipe, for the Italian Orange-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies for those who want to see how they fare in your own private bake-off:
Cookie Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1 c. corn meal
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa power
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
Filling Ingredients:
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. powdered sugar
1 orange, zested
Cream butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine flour, corn meal, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add dry to wet using a wooden spoon. Place on plastic wrap and form into round. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 day). Roll out dough to 1/4 - 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch diameter rounds. Bake in oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 11 minutes, or until set. Allow to cool partially on pan before placing cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Make filling by creaming together ingredients. Assemble cookies using approx. 2 tsp. of filling per sandwich.
Prepare for bliss.
