Making a U Turn for Cafe Antigua Guatemala

You know how you have one of those days when you rush to get to an appointment only to find out that you got the times mixed up and are actually early? So now you have time to kill and then you realize that you're also hungry? What's a girl to do, except look for some place to have lunch, so I decide to take a drive and tell myself to stop at the first place that looks interesting. I'm cruising down Santa Monica Boulevard and of course, a small Guatemalan restaurant with a red facade catches my eye and I proceed to drive right past it. Unfortunately, the street was pretty busy, so it took me awhile, but I managed to do a U Turn and was soon on my way back.

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Part of the appeal of this restaurant laid in the fact that I've never had Guatemalan food before and feeling a little adventurous decided that day was the day to check it out. Walking in, I noticed that this was indeed a small hole in the wall restaurant with only about 6 tables in the space. The menu was also quite limited, so I just asked the Owner for a recommendation. One dish she mentioned was a stew, but the weather was just too warm for that, so I went for her other suggestion, the Chili Relleno Plate. While waiting for my food arrive, I tried one of their Guatemalan Soft Drinks. The company is Tiky and I went for the pina flavor. Two words. Super Sweet. Letting the ice melt actually helped a little bit.

The tortillas arrived first. and I loved how thick and pillowy they were. If I had some butter, I could have just eaten them on their own.

Finally, my Chili Relleno Plate arrived. Now with this dish, it comes with black beans, sour cream and rice and your choice of 1 of 2 different salads. I had asked if I could have a small portion of each salad and the Owner was fine with my request.

Since I'm not familiar with the Guatemalan cuisine, I was surprised at some of the foods that were served. One of the side salads was Pickled Cabbage, Beets and Carrots, which I absolutely enjoyed, but it's a dish that seemed to me, more Eastern Enropean in nature.

The other salad option was a mayonnaise-based Beans, Carrots an Potato Salad. First, I've never had green beans as part of a potato salad before, let alone carrots, but in general, I wouldn't think to associate mayonnaise with South American or Central American cooking. So if anyone has information on how these two particular salads would have made it in a Guatemalan restaurant, I'd love to know. As for the salad itself, it was tasty.

I absolutely fell in love with the side of black beans that came with the Chili Relleno. The best way I could describe it is that the texture was silky smooth and it had a sweet-earthiness to it that I really enjoyed.

As for the Chili Relleno itself, it was killer, except for one little thing. I've only had Mexican chili relleo dishes where the peppers were usually poblano peppers. For this Guatemalan version, a sweet red pepper was used instead and its filling consisted of ground pork, beans and carrots. One thing I found interesting was that though this pepper was deep fried, it was soft.

I'm not sure if these were prepared ahead of time and just heated or it's just the nature of this particular pepper to have a softer texture or maybe, the particular vegetables used for the fillings are more watery in nature. I don't really know. Although I would have liked a firmer pepper, I still absolutely enjoyed this Chili Relleno. It was hearty and the sweetness of the pepper really went well with the sweetness of the carrots. I also liked the addition of the green beans and overall, this could have been a meat intensive dish, but the veggies added a nice texture and balance.

I was pretty full by this time and wasn't sure if I could fit in dessert but once the Rellenito was described to me, my wall of resistance came tumbling down. Not that the wall was that strong in the first place. Simply, the Rellenito is a plantain stuffed with black beans, deep fried and than sprinkled with a little sugar. Now who could say no to that? I certainly didn't. It was a perfect end to the meal. Sweet, but not too sweet and not too greasy either, considering the plantain was deep fried.

Overall, Cafe Antigua Guatemala was a wonderful find and with the weather getting cooler, I look forward to returning and trying out the pepian stew recommended by the Owner. So if you're driving along Santa Monica Boulevard, Cafe Antigua Guatemala is definitely worth a stop for a delicious meal.

Cafe Antigua Guatemala
5421 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 465-0755



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Media Dinner at the Dining Room with Chef Michael Voltaggio's Menu

If you know the Los Angeles dining scene and/or a fan of the Top Chef Show, you've more than likely heard of Chef Michael Voltaggio. After weeks of competition, he's currently part of the final four contestants which includes his brother, Chef Bryan Voltaggio. The finale hasn't aired yet, so we are all waiting with bated breath to see who's going to end up on top, but before becoming a part of the reality tv world, Chef Voltaggio was Executive Chef of the Bazaar and is now the current Chef de Cuisine in the Dining Room at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena.

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Last August, I was invited to check out Chef Voltaggio's food via a Media Dinner hosted by the Langham Hotel in Pasadena and put together by their PR company, Weber Shandwick. At the time, Top Chef hadn't aired yet, so I really didn't know what to expect. Once we were all served the amuse bouche, which was Blue Fin, Hibiscus Air and Porcini Mushroom, I knew it was going to be an interesting meal. Each course was paired with wine, except for one that was paired with beer. Since I'm not much of a drinker, while I will tell you what the pairings are, I'm going to focus just on the food.

After our amuse bouche, which had subtle tart and earthy flavors, we went straight into our first course which was the Pacific Yellowtail, Sashimi Style with Compressed Soy-Watermelon, Sea Sponge and Smoked Egg Yolk. It was paired with a glass of 2008 Crios de Susana Balbo, Torrontes, Cafayate. The yellowtail was wonderfully fresh and I liked how the sweetness of the watermelon played against the smokiness of the smoky egg yolk puree.

Our second course was an Octopus dish and was paired with a 2005 Peter Howland Maxwell Vineyard Chardonnay. The octopus itself was a little chewier than I would have liked but it came with some very interesting ingredients. First, it sat on a buttered popcorn puree and than it was topped with a Piquillo Confetti and Cilantro. I wasn't too sure about the popcorn puree, but I loved it. The saltiness of it went well with the tartness of the piquillo and the spiciness of the Cilantro. By the way, the piquillo confetti had the texture of a fruit roll up.

The Pastrami Pigeon with a Rye-Infused Jus, Brussels-Kraut and Puffed Gruyere Cheese was our third course. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite dish of the entire meal. I enjoyed the light crispiness of the puffed gruyere cheese, but I found the pigeon too gamey for my taste. As for the pairing, it was matched up with a Unibroue 17 Strong Dark Ale. This was the one course that the only way I could tolerate this dish was when it was washed down with a sip or two of the ale.

My favorite course of the night was the Turbot and the ingredients of this dish included Artichoke, Tomato Granola with Olive Oil and Champagne Vinegar. It was paired with 2007 Saleway Henkenberg GG Pinot Noir. This was the only dish that was modified from the printed menu. Originally, the dish was flavored with lime and vanilla, but was replaced by olive oil and champagne vinegar. The flavors were subtle, but I really liked the delicate, mildness of the fish and the grainy texture and tartness of the tomato granola.

Next was the Suckling Pig with Pistachio Beans, Onions and an Orange Juice and Coriander Reduction. The pork was sous vide in duck fat for 40 hours, which made it quite tender and I really liked dipping it into the OJ and Coriander Reduction which added a nice spiced citrusy flavor to the meat. Paired with the Suckling Pig was the 2000 August Kesseler Pinot Noir.

The last savory dish of the evening was the Lamb Confit which had Lamb as well the Pickled Tongue with Vadouvan, an Eggplant-Raisin Puree and Fresh Hummus. This dish didn't really make an impression on me, good or bad, so I don't have much to say about it and unfortunately, my photo of it came off quite blurry, too. It was paired with a 2006 Villa Creek Avenger Syrah/Mourvedre/Grenache.

Next came dessert and the first to arrive was a dessert amuse bouche which was a Jasmine Rice Sorbet with Sake Gelatin. This dessert was a total hit with me. It was cool and refreshing and after all the meat in the previous courses, it was nice to have something light.

The last course was Chef Voltaggio's take on Coffee Cake and consisted of Baked Honey, Espresso Mousse, which was made with liquid nitrogen and Lemon Curd. That baked honey was really awesome and was like a thin wafer. What I liked was that the Espresso Mousse wasn't that sweet, but got its sweetness when it was eaten with the baked honey.

We thought our meal was over until we were served one last treat, a plate that included Chocolate Bark with Pop Rocks and Passion Fruit Gelees. I wasn't sure if I had room but the little kid in me couldn't resist Pop Rocks and Chocolate.

Overall, except for one miss and one so-so dish, I really enjoyed Chef Voltaggio's food at the Dining Room. Since this meal, I've been avidly watching him on Top Chef and have found him to be crazily creative when it comes to his food. I certainly got a preview of that from this particular meal. Come on. Butter Popcorn Puree? Tomato Granola? You'd have to have an interesting culinary mind to come up with that kind of stuff. Based on this meal and what I've seen from this show, I am definitely looking forward to enjoying even more of his food in the future.

For those of you who have yet to visit the Dining Room, you may want do so soon. They will be closing for renovation in January 2010, so you may not have very many opportunities left to enjoy Chef Voltaggio's cooking at least at the Dining Room.

The Dining Room
The Langham Hotel and Spa
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue
Pasadena,, CA 91106
(626) 568-3900

Click here to read about my previous Dining Room experience.

Click here to read about the Chocolate Afternoon Tea at the Langham.





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If I Could Cook....Pumpkin

If I could cook aka if I had the patience in general and I was in the mood for pumpkin, below are some recipes that might actually get me in the kitchen, courtesy of images I saw on TasteSpotting!

Pumpkin and Mushroom Pasta with Gorgonzola
- Closet Cooking

Thai Pumpkin Coconut Soup
- About.com: Thai Food

Pumpkin, Spinach & Goat Cheese Tart
- Let Her Bake Cake

Black Bean Pumpkin Chili and and Pumpkin Bread
- Meet Me in the Kitchen

Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle
- Never Enough Thyme

Bon Appetit!

Heating it Up at Henyang Chili King

One major perk of living in the San Gabriel Valley is the sheer availability of Chinese restaurants representing various regional Chinese cooking. I've eaten my way through Shanghainese, Sczechwan, Cantonese, Yunnan foods and more. For one particular outing, I took my dining group to Henyang Chili King to check out Hunan Cuisine. My last experience with Hunan food was at Hunan Seafood Restaurant in Rosemead, which definitely had its hits and misses, so I was looking forward to what this other restaurant would bring to the table. Literally! To learn more about Hunan Cuisine in general, click here and click here for more info.

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I first found out about Henyang Chili King from a Jonathan Gold article, so I based our menu around the dishes he highlighted. Since then, I also came upon a blog posting by Sinsoul and wished that I was able to incorporate some of his mentions as well, but that'll just have to be for a return visit. Anyway, to start our meal, we were served a complementary appetizer of boiled peanuts and pickled veggies. It was nice to start off with something with more neutral flavors, especially since Hunan cuisine is known for its bold flavors.

My group shared a total of 11 dishes that evening, but considering that there's over 170 dishes to choose from on the menu, we only had a small fraction of what was offered. The first plate to land on our table was the cauliflower cooked in “pork oil” and crunchy lardons, which are basically cubed pork. Cauliflower is a bland vegetable on its own, but in this dish, it absorbed a lot of porky goodness from the oil and was simply irresistible.

Following the Cauliflower came the Cumin Lamb. The meat was tender and the flavors of the cumin, the garlic and the cilantro came together and danced on your taste buds.

Arriving with the Cumin Lamb was the Bangly with Chicken dish. Bangly refers to chestnuts. This particular item had a brown sauce that had a hint of sweetness to it and went perfectly with the slight, starchy sweetness of the chestnuts. Also, if you have one or two people who can't handle spicy food, this is a good option to order for them.

Unfortunately, the Shredded Squid with Bamboo Shoots was disappointing. First, the dish name was off since the squid wasn't actually shredded and were more akin to chopped tentacles that seemed more octopus than squid-like. Also, those tentacles were very, very chewy. I don't mind mind a chewy texture, but that was just too much. Another thing to note was that while the bamboo shoots did make an experience, I think celery really was more present than the latter and in the end, the flavors were just really bland.

Flavor wasn't a problem with the Spicy Whole Fish that we had ordered. In fact, the sauce that was poured over the fish did have a fiery kick to it, which was balanced with a little sweetness and tasted quite nicely poured over some of my steamed rice. The only issue I had was the fish itself. It was really bony and was more bone than actual meat. Interestingly enough, this was the same problem I experienced at the last Hunan meal I had at Hunan Seafood Restaurant.

The Dried Cucumber tossed with shredded fresh shiso was solid and I appreciated the fact that cucumber itself weren't overcooked and still had a slight crunchy texture.

Both the Hot and Spicy Tofu and House Special Spicy Over Spicy dishes supplied a nice hit of heat to our palates, but I do have a question to those of you who have been to Henyang Chili King before. Do any of you actually know what type of meat was used in the House Special Spicy over Spicy dish? Although we ordered and enjoyed eating it, we weren't quite sure what we were eating at time. We tried asking our waitress, but her English was limited and she couldn't tell us. Ground pork and cubed pork was my best guess.

I was one of the few of my dining partners who enjoyed the Bitter Melon sauteed with Chinese sausage, but that can be attributed to my growing up eating this particular vegetable. However, I should mention that I would have liked the bitter melon to be a bit more bitter than it actually was, but if it was, that may have been an issue with the rest of the group.

The Sauteed Preserved Meat dish was okay. Not a fav, but not bad either. My only issue was that the preserved meat, which was pork, was a little too salty for me personally, but eating it with rice helped cut down that saltiness a bit.

Our final dish of the night was Stewed Wild Pumpkin. Although this dish was called Wild Pumpkin, I think it's actually more of a butternut squash. I liked the sweetness of the squash, but the entire dish was over cooked to the point of mushiness. Mushy is just not that appealing.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Henyang Chili King and for me, it's a much better Hunan restaurant option than the last one I went to. I would definitely make a return visit and considering that there are over 150 items still left on the menu to try, at least, I know there'll always be variety with every meal.

Henyang Chili King
138 E. Garvey Avenue, #C
Monterey Park, CA 91755
(626) 573-9258




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Private Grand Opening Party at Bouchon Bistro

Thanks to Ethan from Urban Spoon, I got an invitation from Allison Wagner of PR Consulting to attend the Grand Opening Party for Chef Thomas Keller's restaurant, Bouchon Bistro, in Beverly Hills last week. Also in attendance were quite a few fellow bloggers and there was even quite a bit of star gazing to be done with Pierce Brosnan, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss and Larry King who were also on the scene. Click here to see all the celebrity photos for this event.

This Private Grand Opening Party was definitely a hot ticket, so for those of you who weren't lucky enough to get an invitation, I hope that you'll be able to live virtually through my experience via the photos I took of what turned out to be quite a noshing evening. Of course, the party started by walking through the Bouchon Bistro entrance, which was lit up red lights. See the photo lead to this story. Once inside, walk past the reception area and walk up a few flights of stairs to get to the 2nd floor. An elevator is also available for those who need one.

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At the top of the stairs was a small reception area where glasses of champagne were freely being served, but what caught my eye was a large yellow spherical ice sculpture which was in a smaller room towards the back of the reception area. Of course, I had to investigate and lo and behold, I hit the caviar station and let me tell you, those caviar servings were more than generous.

It was hard to tear myself away from all that caviar and just as hard not to sneak one of those caviar tins into my purse, but somehow I prevailed and walked down this long hallway where there was wine storage area to the right of me past the bar and into the main dining room area.

Back to back were the Cured Meats, Pickled Veggies and Olives Station and the Cheese Station. My Filipino palate that loves sour flavors made a beeline for the thinly sliced prosciuitto and the olives first. After I finished off my little plate, I decided to hold off on cheese and instead, I sauntered over to the Raw Bar where oysters were being shucked and being served next to cold shrimp and mussels. One (or two) of each and I was now prepared for cheese.

The cheese selection was wonderful and plentiful. Being a Cheese Head, it was hard not to get a sample of each, but I had heard that there were also hors d'oeuvres being served in the kitchen, so I limited my choices. What I did have was pretty good and even more so, because a couple of them were paired with other foods.

Before I headed to the kitchen, I took a peek at one of their private dining rooms and took a couple of crowd shots.

The kitchen was long, narrow and there was food coming from both sides. It took me 2 passes but I managed to sample the butternut squash soup, the pork belly and arugula sandwich, the codfish fritter and a couple of other things.

By this time, I was ready for something sweet and I found it in the Dessert Station which was set up in another kitchen. I was already quite full, so although I would have loved to try each and every one of them, I limited myself to a chocolate macaroon, the fruit tart and one marshmallow-type tart.

My last stop for the evening was the Bakery. There was actual bread being baked when I walked in and the room smelled so good. On a long table, against the wall, were all these different types of bread stacked up like a pyramid. Apparently, they were all baked that day. While there, the Baker gave a lesson to one of the guests on how to prep the dough before it would be popped into the oven. As we walked out, all guests were given bread to take home.

It was definitely a fun evening of food and people watching, plus the nice gift bag we were all given was a nice treat. This was actually my first time experiencing any of Chef Keller's food and I'm definitely looking forward to a full sit down meal and getting the whole experience. Thanks again to Urban Spoon and PR Consulting. I definitely appreciated the chance to get a preview of what I know will be a Beverly Hills hot spot.

Click here to see all the photos!

Bouchon Bistro
235 N Canon Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 271-9910




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Tour and Paella at La Espanola

If you love Spanish food and are living in the LA area, then a trip to La Espanola, one of only four Spanish cured meat producers in the United States should definitely be on your to do list. La Espanola is an unassuming white building on a small side street in Harbor City in the South Bay part of LA County. To some who may hesitate because of the drive, let me tell you, it's more than worth it. I found that out after I made arrangements for my dining group to visit one Sunday for both a tour and lunch, but first, let's learn a little La Espanola history.

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In 1982, La Espanola Meats was founded by Juana Gimeno Farone, a native from Spain and her husband, Frank Faraone. When the couple relocated to California, Juana was disappointed that the availability of Spanish cured meats was extremely limited to almost nonexistent. After a lot of effort, she managed to find a Spanish food purveyor in Harbor City. After the current owners decided to retire, Juana and her husband bought all the remaining inventory and decided to start their own company.

27 years later, La Espanola wears many hats. Not only do they import, distribute and sell, both retail and wholesale, Spanish foods, they also manufacture Spanish-style sausages and cured meats using traditional Spanish recipes. Along with cured meats, other products that La Espanola imports from Spain to re-sell here include olive oil, olives, canned foods, candy, paella pans and more. As for their plant, it has the approval of the US Department of Agriculture and has state-of-the-art equipment, including mixers, multiple curing rooms and ovens.

On the day of the our La Espanola visit, many of the group arrived early to check out the retail store and as luck would have it, the store was sampling quite a few of their products including cheeses, cured meats, white anchovies and olives. I have to say it was difficult to display restraint. The quality of the product really was evident in how good everything tasted. I enjoyed the spicing of the cured meats and I could have eaten two plates of the white anchovies.

Walking around the small store was like a treasure hunt. It was just amazing the variety of products they had for sale. The various meats, sausages and cheeses were a definite draw, but so were the wines and the olive oils. Also on the shelves, I found sardines, quince, both an asparagus mousse and piquillo pepper mousse and so much more.

Soon, it was time for the tour and it was led by Alex Motamedi, a family member and it started outside where he first told us La Espanola's history and we also got a chance to take a peek at the Paella that was going to served later in the afternoon.

After the talk, we put on our oh-so-fashionable hair nets and were walked into the inner sanctum of their plant. As an importer of cured meats from Spain, those meats arrive whole, are cut into larger pieces, sliced, put into a plastic wrap, vacuum sealed and are ready for sale.

The star attraction was really the sausages. First, Alex pointed out the various machines that go into the sausage making process from the grinder, the scale, the mixer and finally the sausage casing machine.

Then we took a peek into sausage nirvana where row after row of sausages hung. The temperature, humidity and airflow in these curing rooms are carefully monitored. For a moment, we just stood there in awe. It was hard not to want to run in, grab a few sausages (some of which were actually taller than my 5'1" height) and make a run for it. It was a beautiful sight of meaty-goodness.

Once the sausages have finished their curing process, they are taken out of the vaults to be cleaned and packaged. An interesting thing that Alex mentioned was regarding the white mold on the surface of the sausages. During this curing process, white mold grows on the outside while the moisture evaporates as the sausage dries; hence, you get a dry sausage. There's apparently nothing wrong with the mold and while La Espanola generally cleans it off before packaging the sausage, they do get requests for the mold to be kept on for those customers who want to ensure the sausage was actually cured on location.

It was definitely a fun and informative tour and I always love going behind the scenes of a food factory because it makes you so much more appreciative of the work that goes into what lands on your plate. After the tour, we walked over to the covered patio for lunch which started with a tapas plate of cured meats, cheeses and olives.

Soon it was paella time and it arrived in a large platter right in the middle of our table. This was definitely an epic serving of rice, sausages, mussels, shrimp and chicken. I wasn't even sure if we'd finish it, but I have to say we made a pretty good dent and along with espresso and Spanish cookies to end the meal, it was definitely an enjoyable afternoon spent at La Espanola.

A couple things I should mention in regards to the tour and the lunch. This was a private tour I had set up with Alex and at the time, he had mentioned that they were going to start limiting the number of factory tours. So if you want a private tour, he's the person to contact, but there's no guarantee that he'll say yes.

As for the paella, it's only available during the weekend and you need to make advance reservations for it. They only make enough paella for the number of reservations that come in. Even if you can't do the tour or try their paella, La Espanola is really the place to go for Spanish cured meats and imported foods, so I definitely encourage you to check it out.

Click here to see all the photos!

La Espanola Meats
25020 Doble Ave
Harbor City, CA 90710-3155
(310) 539-0455
www.laespanolameats.com





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¡Baja Delicioso! The History of Mariachi and Late Night Mariachi at La Vuelta

Last August, I posted the first of my ¡Baja Delicioso! series where I talked about the ultimate Carne Asada Taco, but life, a new job and other responsibilities took over and I fell a bit behind. It's time to rectify that situation. After scarfing down both a carne asada taco and tostada at our first destination, we were driven over to La Vuelta, also in Tijuana.

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La Vuelta is open 24 hours, but what they're known for is a house mariachi band that will play until 2 am every night but before I talk more about our time at La Vuelta, I thought I'd give you a little mariachi history lesson reprinted from www.mariachi.org.

The Wedding of Musical Traditions

Prior to the arrival of Cortes the music of Mexico, played with rattles, drums, reed and clay flutes, and conch-shell horns, was an integral part of religious celebrations. Quickly, however, as Christianity spread, in many areas these instruments gave way to instruments imported by the Spanish: violins, guitars and harps, brass horns, and woodwinds. The Indian and mestizo musicians not only learned to play European instruments, but also to build their own, sometimes giving them shapes and tunings of their own invention.

Mariachi - What Does It Mean?

Musicologists and folklorists have argued for years over the origin of the word - Mariachi. Currently, the best scholarly opinion is that the word mariachi has native roots. In fact, one theory is that it comes from the name of the wood used to make the platform on which the performers danced to the music of the village musicians.

The Unique Make-Up of the Mariachi Ensemble

In the complete Mariachi group today there are as many as six to eight violins, two trumpets, and a guitar - all standard European instruments. Then there is a high-itched, round-backed guitar called the vihuela, which when strummed in the traditional manner gives the Mariachi its typical rhythmic vitality; a deep-voiced guitar called the guitarró which serves as the bass of the ensemble; and a Mexican folk harp, which usually doubles the base line, but also ornaments the melody. While these three instruments have European origins, in their present form they are strictly Mexican.

The Beginning of the Mariachi We Know Today

Although the origins of Mariachi music go back hundreds of years, in the form we know it the Mariachi began in the nineteenth century in the Mexican state of Jalisco - according to popular legend, in the town of Cocula. The Mariachi was the distinctive version of the Spanish theatrical orchestra of violins, harp and guitars which developed in and around Jalisco. In other areas such as Veracruz and the Huasteca region in the northeast, the ensemble evolved differently. By the end of the nineteenth century, in Cocula the vihuela, two violins, and the guitarrón (which had replaced the harp) were the instruments of the Mariachi.

Coming of Age: Mariachi Vargas

Until the 1930's Mariachi groups were local and semi-professional. They were almost entirely unknown outside their own region. This began to change about 60 years ago, when the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, founded by Gaspar Vargas in 1898, went from Jalisco to Mexico City. They were invited to play at the inauguration in 1934 of populist President Lázaro Cárdenas, one of whose great interests was to foster the native culture of Mexico. Catching the Presidents enthusiasm, urban sophisticates took the folk arts to their hearts, and the Mariachi Vargas instantly became the toast of the town and spawned a musical tradition that has is now an important part of Mexican culture.

La Vuelta

Hopefully, you enjoyed learning more about this Mexican musical tradition so now, let's get back to La Vuelta. When we arrived at La Vuelta and made our way into their larger dining area, we were greeted by the sounds of a mariachi band, performing on a gazebo-like stage.

Once seated, the restaurant sent over complimentary tortilla chips and salsa and beef taquitos along with our choice of beers. The majority of us opted for the Casta beer and while we nibbled and sipped, we sat back and enjoyed the performance.

The food at La Vuelta was solid, if not spectacular, but in the end, it's not really about the food. It's more about finding a late night spot becaue you're still not quite ready to turn in yet. A few appetizers, a beer or two or more and enjoying the lively music and singing of a mariachi band is certainly not a bad way to end your night.

By the time we left La Vuelta, it was around 1:30 am. I was definitely ready for a good night's sleep for tomorrow was going to be an early start time where the first activity of the day was going to be a Tijuana City Tour. More to follow.


La Vuelta
Ave, Revolucion y Calle 1, #2004
Centro
Tijuana, Mexico
www.restaurantlavuelta.com

Click Here to See the Photos of the Entire Trip!

¡Baja Delicioso!
- Introduction and the Ultimate Carne Asada Taco at Tacos El Poblano
- The History of Mariachi and Late Night Mariachi at La Vuelta


Disclaimer:Sponsored by the Tijuana Visitors and Convention Bureau along with the support of the Crossborder Business Associates, Cotuco (Tijuana Tourism Board) and the Tijuana Canirac (Tijuana Restaurant Association). This sponsorship took the form of these organizations paying for our travel arrangements, our hotel accomodations and all our meals.



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Introductory Street Food at Street Restaurant

Having done my share of ethnic and street food dining over the years, I was definitely curious as to what the food was going to be like at Street Restaurant. Inspired and created by Susan Feniger of Two Hot Tamales fame and also part-owner of LA's Ciudad and Border Grill, the focus of this new endeavor was geared towards a menu that was globally street-food and snack-food inspired.

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While I was intrigued by the idea of Street restaurant, I'm sure it wasn't meant to replace the true street food experience. When it comes to street food, there's just something about being so close to the preparation of your food that you can practically lend a helping hand. Second, there's a certain camaraderie with other people, as you wait on the sidewalk in anticipation of your food being served. Third, I just love the get your hands dirty aspect of eating from a paper plate or tray. Finally, I really enjoy how simply the food is prepared. These street chefs cook their food without any fuss or muss and of course, you can't beat the price.

I think what Street restaurant does well is give its customers an introduction to ethnic street food and snacks, but in such a way where they can sit comfortably at table and chair with china and silverware in a funky and cool setting. Plus, they don't need to globe trot the world or even all over Los Angeles to taste the world's flavors. A good portion of it can be seen on the menu. So given all that, what did I think about the food? To start, I enjoyed the appetizer which were Millet Seed Puffs with Marshmallow, Fennel, Curry, Coriander,Cumin and Black Currant. I enjoyed the light crunchiness of this dish and it was a welcome change from the standard bread and butter.

For my beverage of choice, I went with the Cantaloupe and Beet Agua Fresca, which was beautifully presented. The intense red of the beet was layered over the intense orange of the cantaloupe juice. Pretty to look at, but also very refreshing.

Soon our dishes started arriving with the first to our table being the Paani Puri, which were small bites of spiced potato, chutneys and sprouted beans enclosed in crispy puffs of dough, topped with yogurt. For an added dimension, you pour cilantro water into the puff. I've had a similar dish called the Danipuri at a restaurant called Rasraj, so I knew the intent was to eat the Paani Puri in one bite. Was it a good bite? It was good enough. Having done my share of eating Indian food, I would have liked there to be more of a kick in flavor as well as a cilantro water that was less watered down, but overall, it was a promising start to our meal.

Along with the Paani Puri came the Spinach Varenyky, which were small Ukranian dumplings filled with spinach and a light layer of salted cheese, boiled than pan-fried sour cream, fried onions and lemon marmalade. Being a spinach lover, I was already pre-disposed to loving this dumpling with my first bite, but unfortunately, it didn't do much for me. I did enjoy the spinach itself, but the other flavors seemed too muted for my taste.

The next dish that arrived was one of my favorites and what's interesting is that it could easily be replicated at home. Simply, the Kaya Toast was sheer perfection and it's comprised of toasted bread spread thick with coconut jam and served with a soft boiled egg drizzled in dark soy sauce and white pepper. Be sure to dip the bread into the broken yolk for both sweet and savory flavors.

Following the Kaya Toast, came the Japanese Shizo Shrimp, which were deep fried marinated shrimps that were rolled with shizo and nori seaweed and came with a dipping sauce of ponzu, grated radish and wasabi as well as the Moldavian Meatballs, ground beef and kasha meatballs simmered in a sweet and sour tomato sauce with dill sour cream. While neither were show stoppers, they were solid dishes with the shrimp being light and crispy and the meatballs cooked in a sauce that I wouldn't mind pouring on top of noodles and enjoying in that manner.

My second favorite dish of the meal was the Malaysian Black Pepper Clams, which had clams simmered in oyster sauce with cracked black pepper, palm sugar, soy and lime. That broth was heavenly. Forget the clams. I was happy just dipping the bread into the bowl, soaking up the broth and biting into the bread. We even asked for more bread because we didn't want the broth to go to waste. It was that good.

More Indian flavors came our way with the arrival of the Saag Paneer, Kokum Dal and Rice Plate, a South Indian spinach dish stewed with homemade paneer cheese, tomato and spices, served with dried plum dal and yogurt rice as well as the Indian Semolina Cakes, which were crispy pan fried cakes of utma semolina with toasted cashews, peas, tomato and spices, topped with tomato chutney. The Saag Paneer dish wasn't that memorable, but I did enjoy the semolina cakes, although I would have liked them to be a bit more airy and not as heavy in texture.

Our last savory dish before dessert was the Massamum Chicken Curry, a Southern Thai curry dish with chicken, red yam and mushrooms simmered in coconut milk and spices. I just had a little taste of the curry, but having been spoiled by eating at Jitlada, a Southern Thai restaurant, I would have liked a little more complexity and a lot more heat in the curry sauce itself. To be fair though, I only had a couple of spoonfuls so if the heat was more of a slow burn, I wouldn't have noticed from such a limited sampling.

There's always room for dessert and my party went for the Turkish Doughnuts, small spiced pastries, fried and simmered in cardamom rose syrup served with sour cream and rose hip jam and a Toffee and Cookie Plate which included peanut and butter jelly cookies and bittersweet chocolate toffee. I liked the doughnuts, although from the look of them, they seem like they were over-fried? As for the Toffee and Cookie Plate, nothing really exciting, but it served its purpose of giving us something sweet to end the meal with.

Overall, although the food was hit and miss for me, I like the idea of Street, in that it could introduce new foods to customers who aren't usually that adventurous and hopefully, it will encourage them to also seek out more authentic flavors elsewhere. As for me, Street isn't in my near future, but at least my time there was a nice little jaunt around the world and all from one table.

Click here to see all the photos!

Street
742 N. Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 203-0500
www.eatatstreet.com




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Heritage Square Museum 40th Anniversary Fundraiser

Heritage Square Museum -
40 Years of Preservation Celebrated at the Historic San Antonio Winery

On Saturday, November 7, the Heritage Square Museum will host a very special 40th Anniversary Fundraiser and Luncheon at the historic San Antonio Winery. This event will help raise critical funds for Heritage Square Museum to continue for another 40 years. The Fundraiser begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. Honorary Event Chair, Councilman Ed Reyes, District One, will be in attendance and making a special presentation.

Tours of the San Antonio Winery and wine tasting reception are from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., with the luncheon buffet beginning at 2:30 p.m. Special celebrity guest appearances soon to be announced.

More About the Heritage Square Museum:

In 1969, Heritage Square Museum began its mission to preserve the history of Southern California and eventually saved eight historic structures. Forty years later, it is one of the leading living history museums in Southern California, dedicated to telling the story of the development of Los Angeles.

Heritage Square Museum has seen remarkable growth in 2009. With an aggressive slate of exciting programs, events and exhibits, museum attendance has already surpassed all of 2007 and will exceed 2008s total before the year is over. In 2010, the museum is planning its greatest period of expansion in decades. A new drugstore (complete with original furnishings), the recreation of historic windows on the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church, an expansion of the Victorian Fence Project, important infrastructure improvements and more are planned to meet the museum’s growing needs make for more exciting opportunities for all of its International, National and Southern California visitors.

Heritage Square Museum is regularly open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 12 to 5 p.m. (Hours vary November to February). Admission is $10/adults, $8/seniors, $5/children ages 6-12. The Museum is located at 3800 Homer Street, off the 110 Arroyo Seco Parkway (110/Pasadena Freeway) at Avenue 43, just north of downtown Los Angeles. For further information, visit our website at www.heritagesquare.org.

Heritage Square Museum 40th Anniversary Fundraiser
Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031
Tickets are $125.00

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Heritage Square Museum at (323) 225-2700

Fantastic Latin Cuisine at Rivera

With the restaurant boom happening in downtown Los Angeles, I wanted the dust to settle a bit before checking out all the various eateries. First on the list was Rivera, the brain child of Chef John Rivera Sedler with his take on Modern Latin Cuisine. I bet you can tell how he came up with the restaurant name. Anyway, 5 of us shared 16 different dishes from snacks all the way to desserts and even partook in a couple of cocktails. Mine was the Summer Splash made of Vodka, Lemon, Basil and Honey and it was quite refreshing.

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Our meal started off with a trio of items from the snacks section of their menu. First to arrive was the Patatas Xips which were Kennebec potato chips that came with a chipotle-lime crema topped with caviar. Nothing spectacular, but at least the chips were light and crispy and I liked the tart and the little kick flavor of the crema.

Next came the Xnipek which was described on the menu as a Yucatan-style charred-habenero "Dog's Snout" Salsa and Mini Chips. The "Dog's Snout" refers to how the salsa is suposed to be so spicy that once you sample it, your nose will be equivalent to a dog's runny nose. I actually didn't think the salsa was as spicy as it proclaimed to be although it did have a kick, but it didn't matter, I loved it. If I could, I would have gone in the kitchen, spooned some into a jar or two and taken it home.

The trio was rounded off with the Tortillas Florales, housemade Nixtimal tortillas and 'Indian Butter". This is actually my second time experiencing these Tortillas with my first time being at Altamed's Fourth Annual East LA Meets Napa Event which I attended last July. Second time around was just as delicious. I loved the presentation of the pressed edible flowers inside the tortilla plus the tortilla itself which was thick, crispy and hearty.

After the snacks, we went into the starters and what better way to start than with the Chile Pasilla Relleno which was a chilled pickled mile chile filled with burrata cheese. Of the 6 starter items we ordered, this was my favorite. I enjoyed the slight vinegary aspect of the chile plus with it being served cold, it was refreshing to the palate. By the way, on some of the dishes, there were different kinds of what I'm going to call "spice art".

Soon after the Chile Pasilla Relleno, the other 5 dishes arrived in full force like the Cordero Vasco, which were Basque lamb chops, chorizo, piquillos, olives and capers. The lamb chops were cooked just right, but considering the ingredients that were used, I expected more pops of flavor, but was missing that.

The Piquillos Rellenos which were Spanish peppers stuffed with chorizo, golden raisins and gruyere cheese was actually one of the favorites of the table. I appreciated the tenderness of the pepper and how the sweetness of the golden raisins complemented the milder gruyere cheese. The chorizo wasn't as present as it could have been, but I didn't really miss it.

With a recommendation from our server, we also ordered the Bacalao Negro Fresco which was seared black cod and serrano ham crisp. I liked how the fish was delicate and moist, but had a crisped surface. The saltiness of the ham also went well with the mild flavor of the cod.

The next dish was my least favorite of the entire meal and it was the Cordorniz Cubana, a grilled quail with black beans. This is my fifth attempt at trying to like quail and it didn't take this time either. Most of my other party enjoyed this dish, but it wasn't for me. I've always find quail to be fatty. Maybe, if it was fried, I'd at least enjoy the crispy skin, but as of now, this is the last time I'm eating quail.

Last but not least of our starters was the Tamal which had braised pork short rib, seasonal mushrooms and guajillo sauce. The tamal itself was delicate and moist and maybe, I'm being just a bit greedy, but I would have loved more pork and mushrooms. I especially liked the mushrooms which added a nice earthiness to the overall dish.

After we finished off the last bit of the tamal, our 3 main entrees arrived along with a side of calabacitas. By the way, the calabacitas were prettily presented in a corn husk and I loved the color and the crunch of the squash, the bell peppers and the corn that made up that mixture.

Of our three main dishes, the one that I thought was just okay was the Maya Puerco Pibil Sous Vide which was banana leaf braised pork shoulder and Peruvian potatoes. Honestly, I don't understand what the big deal is in regards to meats that are cooked using the sous-vide method. Perhaps, my expectation isn't correct in that I always assume that the meat cooked in this manner should be extra tender, extra juicy. It's not as if the pork in this dish was tough by any means, but it didn't meet my perhaps too lofty expectations? However, this dish's presentation was quite eye catching.

The Kurobuta Pork Chop with a Mole Sauce and Sweet Potatoes on the side was tasty. It's not the best mole sauce I've ever had, but it did have wonderful flavor plus the pork chop was thick and juicy.

Everyone went gaga over the our last entree which was the Duck Enfrijolada with goat cheese, stacked blue-corn tortillas, black bean puree and chile rioja sauce. It wasn't the prettiest dish of the night, but all the flavors melded well together, from the pungency of the cheese to the earthiness of the black beans and so on.

13 dishes down and yes, we still had room for dessert and we ordered three of them. The first one to arrive was the Torta Xocolata, a chocolate torte and drunken pineapple. I forgot to ask what the pineapple was drunk from, but the tartness of the pineapple paired well with that dark chocolate torte.

The Crema Catalana with almonds and xerex creme had a wonderful crispy caramelization on the surface, but was a bit soupy, which was unexpected. I liked the fact that this dessert wasn't overly sweet, but I wish that consistency was thicker because I would have enjoyed it much more.

Our last dessert was Quesos Españoles which consisted of three Spanish cheeses with sangria jus and crusty bread. We let our server choose our cheeses. Unfortunately, I only remember that one of them was a Manchego and the other was a blue cheese. Regardless, it's hard to go wrong with cheese and it was the perfect finale to our meal.

Overall, except for one or two minor things, this was a wonderful meal and if all the new downtown Los Angeles restaurants are on par with Rivera, than I have a lot to look forward to as I explore more of what downtown has to offer.

Rivera Restaurant
1050 S Flower St
Los Angeles, CA 90015-5100
(213) 749-1460
www.riverarestaurant.com




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