There are many many good things to eat here in Rowland Heights, CA, aka "Little Taipei". One of them is pictured above, a delicious and tender platter of "Stir Fried Lamb Meat." The lamb is thinly sliced, akin to what you would find in hot pot, and cooked with over-generous portion of hot peppers and some parsley. Lamb is quickly becoming one of my favorite meats, and this dish only reaffirms that by the way the meat melts in my mouth while the spices set it on fire in that salivating way that I do so love. It's a little salty, a little oily, but just thinking about it now makes my mouth water all over again. Located in the Hong Kong Supermarket Plaza at Hunan Wok, this will be one of those dishes that I'll bring friends to try when they visit me in LA. But be warned, Hunan Wok is notorious for its spicy menu. When I ask my uncle where we are going for dinner, he just says, "the spicy place" and "I am going to feel sorry for your asshole tomorrow".
On a side note, I do not think it is coincedence that we started this blog the same week Jonathan Gold won the first ever Pulitzer Prize for Food Criticism.
Labels: lamb, Rowland Heights, spicy
posted by Jon || 3 Comments
Turkey Meatloaf served with whipped potatoes & sauteed Swiss chard. 16
Overall on taste, I would give it a solid A. But then factor in quantity and a price of sixteen dollars (btw, I spelled 'sixteen' tonight for a literati bingo bonus), and you get the opposite of what Justin is eating in China. But back to the food, I really enjoyed all three parts. The sauce on top of the meatloaf was nice and tangy, the potatoes had a little too soft of texture but tasted fine, and I really liked the sauteed Swiss chard, which I 'think' are those vegetables in the corner. They had some red pepper flakes which, to my delight, made it hot and spicy. This is an ideal comfort food for people who want to pay for it.
I had another 6 dollar lettuce salad too. But hey, at least I was full after the meal this time.
I need to remember to mention more about where I am having these meals in case people want to go. The past two entries have been from a place called AMMO (www.ammocafe.com) here in Hollywood on Highland Ave and Santa Monica. I guess one reason why everything is more expensive is because,
"At AMMO we let the seasons dictate what we prepare, always respecting the ingredients. We have worked hard building strong relations with local farmers and suppliers to ensure the freshest and best tasting ingredients possible. We also believe in purchasing organic when permitted."
Sure.
Labels: AMMO, meatloaf, potatoes, swiss chard
posted by Jon || 1 Comments
At work today we ordered from a cafe named AMMO for lunch. It's one of those places that you might think of when you picture ritzy Hollywood restaurants with wannabe actors and actresses on staff, and you hear lots of fake laughter, and they should just change the name of the restaurant to Lowes, because the clientele is filled with tools. My meal was pretty good though.
"Beef Burger with sharp cheddar, tomato, arugula and caramelized onions, served with AMMO’s shoestring fries. 15"
This was my main entree and it was recommended to me by the host when I placed the order. It was actually quite good, I think the arugala and carmelized onions give it an extra kick and therefore extra points. But is it worth the 750% mark up from a double cheeseburger and fries from McDonald's? That's debatable. But it was organic...
...like I care. A really good burger, but no way I am paying $15 of my own money for that. The fries were so-so.
"Small Salad: Romaine hearts & radicchio in a citrus vinaigrette 6"
Look closely at the picture. You only see lettuce and whatever radicchio is (which I always thought was just purple lettuce...). Six dollars! What! It wasn't even that much lettuce too! They meant it when they said SMALL salad. You think they could at least throw in a baby carrot, or maybe one or two sunflower seeds. But again, production pays for it and not me so...I won't complain too much. But now you see why anyone who voluntarily eats there on their own dime is weird.
On a tangent, I went to a Whole Foods Market in West Hollywood, and I felt out of place (aside from the wide array of characters you'll see in any Hollywood supermarket...). The whole organic all-natural oxidizing blah blah blah that Californians crave, especially in that part of town, started to annoy me. So I went back to work and ate some Oreo cookies. AND IT FELT RIGHT.
"Beef Burger with sharp cheddar, tomato, arugula and caramelized onions, served with AMMO’s shoestring fries. 15"
This was my main entree and it was recommended to me by the host when I placed the order. It was actually quite good, I think the arugala and carmelized onions give it an extra kick and therefore extra points. But is it worth the 750% mark up from a double cheeseburger and fries from McDonald's? That's debatable. But it was organic...
...like I care. A really good burger, but no way I am paying $15 of my own money for that. The fries were so-so.
"Small Salad: Romaine hearts & radicchio in a citrus vinaigrette 6"
Look closely at the picture. You only see lettuce and whatever radicchio is (which I always thought was just purple lettuce...). Six dollars! What! It wasn't even that much lettuce too! They meant it when they said SMALL salad. You think they could at least throw in a baby carrot, or maybe one or two sunflower seeds. But again, production pays for it and not me so...I won't complain too much. But now you see why anyone who voluntarily eats there on their own dime is weird.
On a tangent, I went to a Whole Foods Market in West Hollywood, and I felt out of place (aside from the wide array of characters you'll see in any Hollywood supermarket...). The whole organic all-natural oxidizing blah blah blah that Californians crave, especially in that part of town, started to annoy me. So I went back to work and ate some Oreo cookies. AND IT FELT RIGHT.
posted by Jon || 0 Comments
It's true. Hollywood likes excess, and there is always plenty of food to go around. And the longer you work, the more you're around food, and the more you're supposed to eat (union rules), and so on and so forth.
I usually don't take pictures of what I am eating while working because a) there are a lot of people around (who might think I'm weird for photographing all of my food...) and b) it might be un-professional? Anyways, on set, you have catering companies for you meals, and then in between meals you have a craft service guy. Here is a picture of my lunch:
On my plate is strip steak, buttercorn sweet potatoes, and snow peas and peppers. Catered lunches are usually pretty good, and this was pretty standard. I should note that this is a VERY small lunch in comparison to what I could have. They always also have some sort of grilled chicken or pork, and a fish item. They also have multiple salads, sushi, and plenty of desserts. Last Friday they had crab cakes. I love crab cakes.
So like in my last post, another tip for readers. If you ever see crews filming in Los Angeles, and you're hungry, just hang around and see what comes up. Odds are no one will notice you, just act like you're supposed to be there, and you can get lots of great food. You can even ask for it in to-go boxes!
That's all for now. I'll talk about craft service guys some other time.
I usually don't take pictures of what I am eating while working because a) there are a lot of people around (who might think I'm weird for photographing all of my food...) and b) it might be un-professional? Anyways, on set, you have catering companies for you meals, and then in between meals you have a craft service guy. Here is a picture of my lunch:
On my plate is strip steak, buttercorn sweet potatoes, and snow peas and peppers. Catered lunches are usually pretty good, and this was pretty standard. I should note that this is a VERY small lunch in comparison to what I could have. They always also have some sort of grilled chicken or pork, and a fish item. They also have multiple salads, sushi, and plenty of desserts. Last Friday they had crab cakes. I love crab cakes.
So like in my last post, another tip for readers. If you ever see crews filming in Los Angeles, and you're hungry, just hang around and see what comes up. Odds are no one will notice you, just act like you're supposed to be there, and you can get lots of great food. You can even ask for it in to-go boxes!
That's all for now. I'll talk about craft service guys some other time.
posted by Jon || 4 Comments
Not that I care too much for $1 off margaritas. I do however deeply care for 1/2 off appetizers. I only took two photos because Grace and I ate most of our food before I remembered to take pictures.
I should add that this happy hour was a Z-Tejas. Grace and I both realized that we had thought this place was strictly southwestern Tex-Mex despite many visits before, but only now did we notice that Z-Tejas is in fact "A new American restaurant" as they call themselves, and only portions of their menu resemble traditional Tex-Mex establishments. Above you will see some standard quesadillas. They were okay, nothing special. The 1/2 off makes them worthwhile though. I had better quesadillas a few days later on set for one of the commercials I was working on. I didn't take a picture of that though because I was too busy wolfing them down. And conversely, that is why I have pictures of these quesadillas, because they were just okay.
Now these, these were great. And at 1/2 off, we ordered a second one (which also explains why I have a picture of them) They are, "Grilled Shrimp & Guacamole Tostada Bites: Herb-and-pumpkin-seed tostada rounds, topped with pesto-grilled shrimp, fresh guacamole and a dash of chipotle."
They were pretty awesome, and rather spicy, which made them even better. The crunchyness of the tostada with the softer grilled shrimp proved to be a winning combination. Add some guacamole, and it truely felt like a fiesta in my mouth. Texture is important friends. Texture is important.
I think we as foodasauruses should also make lists of tips for our readers to maximize their foodivore ways. Obviously, one of them should be to attend happy hours and get 1/2 off appetizers. I think our readers would benefit.
I should add that this happy hour was a Z-Tejas. Grace and I both realized that we had thought this place was strictly southwestern Tex-Mex despite many visits before, but only now did we notice that Z-Tejas is in fact "A new American restaurant" as they call themselves, and only portions of their menu resemble traditional Tex-Mex establishments. Above you will see some standard quesadillas. They were okay, nothing special. The 1/2 off makes them worthwhile though. I had better quesadillas a few days later on set for one of the commercials I was working on. I didn't take a picture of that though because I was too busy wolfing them down. And conversely, that is why I have pictures of these quesadillas, because they were just okay.
Now these, these were great. And at 1/2 off, we ordered a second one (which also explains why I have a picture of them) They are, "Grilled Shrimp & Guacamole Tostada Bites: Herb-and-pumpkin-seed tostada rounds, topped with pesto-grilled shrimp, fresh guacamole and a dash of chipotle."
They were pretty awesome, and rather spicy, which made them even better. The crunchyness of the tostada with the softer grilled shrimp proved to be a winning combination. Add some guacamole, and it truely felt like a fiesta in my mouth. Texture is important friends. Texture is important.
I think we as foodasauruses should also make lists of tips for our readers to maximize their foodivore ways. Obviously, one of them should be to attend happy hours and get 1/2 off appetizers. I think our readers would benefit.
Labels: quesadillas, Tex Mex, texture
posted by Jon || 2 Comments
since i have been at school this year and stuck in the cultural wasteland that is oxford, ohio, i have been deprived of tasty food (like my beloved chipotle). but we do have a few nice restaurants uptown, like kona.. which is where my lovely roomie j.spunt and i celebrated the nice weather and went on a date last weekend.
i know the picture kind of sucks, but i got overly excited and ate half of it before i remembered to take a picture.
so we started out with some three cheese artichoke dip.. which we obviously loved. i enjoy all kinds of chips and dip in general, but i am an especially big fan of cheese and artichoke dip. or spinach and artichoke dip. basically i'm down with any combo of artichokes and chips. i'm pretty sure we inhaled it rather than ate it.
yes, we were very excited.
next, we got our entrees which were basically excellent. i got the greek shrimp pasta with feta, tomato, green pepper & oregano sauteed in olive oil & garlic, tossed with linguini - can you tell i copied&pasted from the website? i didn't think soooo :] i would just like to say right now that i love feta cheese. love love love it. i'm usually not a big fan of cheese, but something about feta just makes me happy.
look at those beautiful shrimp. SOOO GOOD!
spunt got my other favorite at kona, the chicken & pancetta with sundried tomatoes, pinenuts, spinach, ziti & rosemary-smoked cheddar sauce. i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that pancetta is one of the world's greatest creations. i think it's up there with the wheel and electricity.
overall, a wonderful meal for a pretty reasonable price. unfortunately, we were too full for dessert (which usually never happens). but don't worry, i went back uptown to get some free coldstone about an hour later. and we all know everything tastes better when it's free.
in other news, i recently discovered that one of the dining halls here makes their own version of the kfc famous bowl - and we all know i love those. naturally, i had to try one. they layered mashed potatoes, corn, chicken, and gravy to create a tiny bowl of heaven (or "heart attack in a bowl," as my friends like to call it. but when has that ever stopped me?). it didn't quite measure up to kfc's version, but let's get serious.. that was never gonna happen. still, it was pretty yummy and i'm glad i got it.
i know the picture kind of sucks, but i got overly excited and ate half of it before i remembered to take a picture.
posted by Karen || 3 Comments
This is the typical order from a particular Xinjiang (Place in China with a high Muslim population) La Mian (Noodles) that some friends and I frequent late at night. The best part is that it is open 24 hours a day. And...only *8RMB (which is actually an increase in price since I first got to Shanghai) for the Chow Mian (pictured above). *8RMB is roughly 1USD
It doesn't burn your mouth with flavor like some places in Shanghai, but that's a good thing. I think what really makes it so great is the texture of the noodles. They are hand made right in front of you and have a nice thickness to them so that you can really taste the noodles themselves. I'm a fan of firmer, chewier noodles and this is exactly that. Add in avacado, tomato, onions, and some meat, and it really becomes a perfect blend of meat and vegetable, while maintaining high quality taste. The combination of speed, taste, and price make it a good option any time you're hungry. And especially after you've been drinking.
posted by Justin || 0 Comments
Hello to all of our faithful readers. During my inaugural post, I would like to welcome you to what may become the greatest blog in the history of my friends and our shared obsession for food. I look forward to having to constrain myself from devouring whatever is in front of me when I am all too hungry and instead, whipping out a camera and patiently try to take the most cinematographic photo I can of my meal. Our readers deserve nothing less than the best exposures, angles, lighting, and so on.
As a disclaimer though, I no longer carry a camera around with me at all times, so the camera phone on my cell phone with have to do. I think we'll manage (if the food looks salivating enough that is). So here we go.
EMPANADAAAASSSS
My production coordinator at work has this favorite local madre n' padre place where he likes us to order lunch from. He recommends their empanadas, filled with chorizo, potatoes, cheese, and Mexican spices. These are fried however, and I think I prefer baked empanadas, but still quite good. Also, the beans at Tere's Mexican Grill really appeal to me, and I am not normally a fan of them.
DAN-TAH BUT AWESOMER
This weekend at a fundraiser presentation in the Bay Area, one of our supporters brought a plethora of Asian dessert-type treats. While they were all very good, the creme brulee-like Dan Ta took the cake (har har!). You'll see the dark brown spots on top, which were the carmelized sugar. Combine that with the usual good taste of an egg tart and well, you have a winner. This photo was taken after I ate four of them, as well as the other 20 people. So, I'm not kidding when I say we had A LOT of snacks. And this was only 1 of probably 7 large platters.
I think the odds of Ming gaining 12 pounds in one hour if he were to attend this presentation were...well, no, no odds. He would have easily gained 12 pounds. No doubt about it.
AN EPIC BATTLE BREWS?!?!
Lastly, this photo is not of real food obviously, but I think it works for our blog, especially if it entices Karen to post. It is a giant Chipotle burrito blimp, and it would fly around the arena during intermission periods of Dallas Stars hockey games. It would hover above the fans and sporadically drop Chipotle coupons. It was pretty exciting.
I guess you could say that if our little Foodasaur guy (we need a name for him) was say, Godzilla (they're both green and hungry!), then this Chipotle blimp would be Mothra (they fly!). Except Mothra would be nice and poop out little coupons for everyone...and our little Godzilla would try to eat the Mothra, and then be really sad that Mothra is just full of air, and not marinated shredded beef, black beans, rice, and salsa and other Mexican spices.
Mexican spices Justin. Mexican spices.
Now move to LA.
As a disclaimer though, I no longer carry a camera around with me at all times, so the camera phone on my cell phone with have to do. I think we'll manage (if the food looks salivating enough that is). So here we go.
EMPANADAAAASSSS
My production coordinator at work has this favorite local madre n' padre place where he likes us to order lunch from. He recommends their empanadas, filled with chorizo, potatoes, cheese, and Mexican spices. These are fried however, and I think I prefer baked empanadas, but still quite good. Also, the beans at Tere's Mexican Grill really appeal to me, and I am not normally a fan of them.
DAN-TAH BUT AWESOMER
This weekend at a fundraiser presentation in the Bay Area, one of our supporters brought a plethora of Asian dessert-type treats. While they were all very good, the creme brulee-like Dan Ta took the cake (har har!). You'll see the dark brown spots on top, which were the carmelized sugar. Combine that with the usual good taste of an egg tart and well, you have a winner. This photo was taken after I ate four of them, as well as the other 20 people. So, I'm not kidding when I say we had A LOT of snacks. And this was only 1 of probably 7 large platters.
I think the odds of Ming gaining 12 pounds in one hour if he were to attend this presentation were...well, no, no odds. He would have easily gained 12 pounds. No doubt about it.
AN EPIC BATTLE BREWS?!?!
Lastly, this photo is not of real food obviously, but I think it works for our blog, especially if it entices Karen to post. It is a giant Chipotle burrito blimp, and it would fly around the arena during intermission periods of Dallas Stars hockey games. It would hover above the fans and sporadically drop Chipotle coupons. It was pretty exciting.
I guess you could say that if our little Foodasaur guy (we need a name for him) was say, Godzilla (they're both green and hungry!), then this Chipotle blimp would be Mothra (they fly!). Except Mothra would be nice and poop out little coupons for everyone...and our little Godzilla would try to eat the Mothra, and then be really sad that Mothra is just full of air, and not marinated shredded beef, black beans, rice, and salsa and other Mexican spices.
Mexican spices Justin. Mexican spices.
Now move to LA.
posted by Jon || 7 Comments
Some friends made dinner at my place a few months ago as a going away dinner for some people. Although I prepared zero of the following dishes, I did get to eat them. And as always, that's the important part.
The following creation is basically slices of french bread with tuna, celery, and egg. The middle centerpiece is the always appropriate for any occasion - grilled cheese sandwich. I'm told it was very quick to prepare, and the presentation in my opinion was superb. It tasted great too, but tuna + bread is a good combo to me in any form.
Celery is definitely a hit or miss kind of addition, but it worked this time.
There were actually 4 or 5 plates of different bread creations, but my favorite was between the above tuna and the below pizza. I'm a big fan of bagel bites (even though it's a guarantee that I'll burn the roof of my mouth eating them), and these are like bagel bites^2. They tasted way better and the homemade factor just increased the goodness. Plus, they have bacon and it's hard to go wrong with bacon.
By the way, if anyone ever asks if you want to add bacon to your order, the answer is always yes. It will taste better. It's a sure thing - kind of like *Paris Hilton having sex with her dates (if you ever find yourself in that situation, the answer is actually "NO"). *I made sure to mention Paris after posting the picture in hopes that the negative association wouldn't be projected on the wonderful sandwich...err bread things.
This final creation was a variation, but still took a little creativity. It's literally: pancakes with a ton of chocolate ice cream and strawberries on top. "A la mode" to the extreme. At first you'd think that this amount of ice cream with the pancakes on the bottom wouldn't be very good, but what's not to like?
Pancakes are good. Strawberries are good. And the ice cream just holds it all together. It's like the glue of the dessert - literally. Chocolate ice cream is like bacon, it just makes anything taste good.
This little flan cake thing has nothing to do with the above dinner and is actually from a Cuban restaurant I went to on Valentine's Day. I just thought I'd share. It had a bitter tasting syrup sauce, and looked better than it tasted. Although by no means bad, it was mediocrity at its best.
The following creation is basically slices of french bread with tuna, celery, and egg. The middle centerpiece is the always appropriate for any occasion - grilled cheese sandwich. I'm told it was very quick to prepare, and the presentation in my opinion was superb. It tasted great too, but tuna + bread is a good combo to me in any form.
Celery is definitely a hit or miss kind of addition, but it worked this time.
There were actually 4 or 5 plates of different bread creations, but my favorite was between the above tuna and the below pizza. I'm a big fan of bagel bites (even though it's a guarantee that I'll burn the roof of my mouth eating them), and these are like bagel bites^2. They tasted way better and the homemade factor just increased the goodness. Plus, they have bacon and it's hard to go wrong with bacon.
By the way, if anyone ever asks if you want to add bacon to your order, the answer is always yes. It will taste better. It's a sure thing - kind of like *Paris Hilton having sex with her dates (if you ever find yourself in that situation, the answer is actually "NO"). *I made sure to mention Paris after posting the picture in hopes that the negative association wouldn't be projected on the wonderful sandwich...err bread things.
This final creation was a variation, but still took a little creativity. It's literally: pancakes with a ton of chocolate ice cream and strawberries on top. "A la mode" to the extreme. At first you'd think that this amount of ice cream with the pancakes on the bottom wouldn't be very good, but what's not to like?
Pancakes are good. Strawberries are good. And the ice cream just holds it all together. It's like the glue of the dessert - literally. Chocolate ice cream is like bacon, it just makes anything taste good.
This little flan cake thing has nothing to do with the above dinner and is actually from a Cuban restaurant I went to on Valentine's Day. I just thought I'd share. It had a bitter tasting syrup sauce, and looked better than it tasted. Although by no means bad, it was mediocrity at its best.
posted by Justin || 1 Comments