Snack Trek: JAPADOG (Vancouver)

April 15, 2012

Pile on the seaweed.

When you visit Vancouver, the locals will ask you, “Have you had a Japadog yet?”At first, you’ll feel awkward about it, because is Japadog a racist thing to say? (Canadians are definitely less worried about being PC…)

Later — after you’ve eaten one — you’ll find out that most actual Vancouver natives have never had a Japadog, or have only eaten it once with a visiting friend. But it’s one of those things. You have to try one. Would all of these random celebrities steer you wrong?

I take all my food recs from Ice Cube.

I think “No Japadog, No Life” is a bit of hyperbole. Especially because — is there a WORSE food for sustaining life than processed meats? (My doctor just gave me an over-the-phone lecture about meat — thanks, genetically high cholesterol and lactose intolerance. Together you are ruining my blog!)

At the end of the day, it was very a very convenient “snack trek,” because one of the stands was parked outside of my hotel.

Hello.

Apparently each stand has a slightly different menu (collect ‘em all!). I wasn’t sure if you could mix ‘n match meats and toppings, and from what I gathered the answer was “no,” so I ended up getting the beef “terimayo” (with a teriyaki/mayo sauce), even though I was having mayo fatigue. (It’s hard NOT to eat mayo in Canada.)

Choices...

And what does a Japadog taste like? It’s a beef hot dog, deeply striated along the top so that the hot dog sort of has bite-sized pieces (that was cool), grilled (I think), drizzled with teriyaki and mayo and covered with seaweed strips (I think they’re similar to the snacky ones people buy at Trader Joe’s — which they don’t have in Canada, btw). That’s what it tastes like.

I thought it had a good bun. I thought it needed a little mustard (which they had available).

So if you like hot dogs with a sushi-tasting twist, you’ll enjoy them. I enjoyed mine. It seemed to be a quality beef hot dog. But you won’t feel healthy about it. I felt a little extra-gross because I’d just been to The Infield the previous weekend. And because I typically don’t eat mayo.

A piece of seaweed is covering the bite-sized cut I was trying to capture. You can see that I took a bite along the line because the meat is very even.

So now you know everything you never knew you wanted to know about a Japadog, and you can even recreate one in the comfort of your own home.

But you should still get off the couch and visit Vancouver. It has many delights to offer.

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: THE INFIELD Hot Dogs (Sherman Oaks)

March 18, 2012

The neighborhood hot dog stand.

I have been wanting to visit Papaya King since it came to LA (partly for the curly fries), despite the supposedly lethal nature of hot dogs. Today Sam pitched (pun!) that we walk over to much-closer-to-his-place hot dog stand The Infield when a predicted thunderstorm didn’t pan out. (Their website is daw.gs, which confused me until Sam pointed out that it’s “dawgs.”)

I can see why baseball-loving Sam is a fan of The Infield… it’s very committed to the baseball theme. A speaker was broadcasting an Angels vs. Dodgers exhibition game (they kept mentioning one of my high school classmates, who is on the Angels… always kind of crazy to be like, I know that guy!), the seats are sourced from baseball stadiums… it was a cool vibe.

Most of the red ones are from Anaheim Stadium. The blue is the foreground is Toronto, not Dodgers.

Not to mention– they had hot dogs in the style of many different baseball parks. Very cool! Including Sabrett hot dogs, which I believe is the hot dog served at Papaya King. The Infield’s website claims they have Nathan’s, too, which are my dad’s favorites.

The scoreboard/menu.

I ordered the first hot dog my eyes hit on the menu– the Deli Dog. Sabrett, spicy mustard, and sauerkraut. Nice and simple. Sam ordered a New York Dog, and later a Dodger Dog. (Next time I might have to try the Chicago Dog… poppy seed bun!)

Sam doused his New Yorker with ketchup (some of that is red onion sauce)…

Lookin' good.

Whereas I decided to do the mothers proud and eat my Deli Dog sans ketchup…

Okay, I added relish.

My hot dog was good! I’m glad I only ordered one, because I went into a bit of a food coma shortly after I ate it. Even thought it wasn’t super heavy. I had a bite of Sam’s Dodger Dog, which (whoops) turned out to have Swiss on it, so maybe that was part of the problem.

Big dog.

This was a fun and delicious hot dog experiences. Sam thinks they boil their hot dogs, because most stadium dogs are boiled. I’m more of a grilled fan, but I’ll let it slide this time… get it? Baseball pun?

If you’re in the Sherman Oaks area, choose this place over Carney’s. I still can’t get over their weird sauerkraut. (I would definitely take my dad to The Infield over Carney’s… although I still want to try Papaya King.) (Curly fries!)

And if you’re interested, The Infield had some kooky desserts… including deep fried Twinkies. That’s territory I just don’t tread. I know my limits.

And here’s a tribute to my St. Louis sister, who is headed back there today after visiting us during her spring break.

Spirit of St. Louis.

Happy Sunday! I think we avoided a stormy, rainy day? Thus far, at least… it’s getting windy as I speak.

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: COLORI KITCHEN (Downtown LA)

March 17, 2012
Do you believe in magic?

Do you believe in magic?

You guys! That picture was taken with NO flash in a dark-ish restaurant! How do you like THEM apples? And how gorgeous is that cheesecake? (Camera+ on the iPhone, in case you’re wondering what I used to take it.)

But let me back up a bit. We didn’t start with dessert. (Not that I would object to such a thing.)

Sam’s aunt (K) was visiting LA and happened to be staying Downtown, so he made a reservation at Colori Kitchen based on some Yelp research. As we walked to the restaurant from the car, K was asking where we might find a hip, happening place around here. And then we walked into Colori. And it was pretty hip and happening. Score.

Colori is an intimate-but-not-too-small place, with the perfect noise level for conversation– not too loud, not creepy quiet. We sat in the back, which was good because– as I mentioned in the post before– I frequented the bathroom. That’s what happens when I attempt to stay hydrated for once.

We started out with the panzanella salad. I THINK the name is a play on words, because pan is bread, ‘ella is mozzarella, and zan might be a veggie. I know in Spanish zanahorias are carrots. Whatever it means, I’m glad to have been introduced to this AMAZING creation. Bread, cucumbers, gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, basil, etc? I’m IN! With bells on. (I gave my cheese to Sam.)

Is that a tomato or a bitty watermelon?

I want to make panzanella the next time I cook for more than just myself. It’s easy, delicious and impressive. The perfect intersection of descriptors. (Seriously– how did I not know about panzanella until now?)

If you like seafood, Colori won’t disappoint. Sam ordered the cioppino (fish stew), which was still boiling when it came to the table. In terms of presentation… it was pretty impressive. (I stood up to take this one… I think we all did.) (Sam’s aunt likes to take pictures of food and interesting street signs… I think we’re kindred spirits.)

Hey guys, I'm the prawn on your dinner.

In case you’re having trouble interpreting the picture– that’s a big bowl of stew, covered by two large crusty pieces of bread, topped off by a chillaxin’ prawn.

Here’s my meal, handmade tagliatelle pasta (really thick linguine, basically) with beef bolognese sauce.

Meet my meat sauce.

Sometimes I give the Yelpers a hard time, but oftentimes they’ll clue me into the best things a restaurant has to offer. People on Yelp RAVED about the cheesecake. I don’t typically like cheesecake and am not really supposed to be eating cheese, but I was compelled to suggest that we order it– even though they also had tiramisu, which is my favorite. (And also technically verboten. Sigh.)

This was like no cheesecake I’d ever had. First of all, it looked like THIS. (Break out the close-up.)

Beautiful, but not too beautiful to eat.

It was ROUND. Genius! And the crust– which was sort of bready, in a good way– was on TOP. The cheesecake itself was so soft and fluffy and light, almost like a mousse or a pudding… and those plate-sauces added a perfect pop of vanilla/berry flavor.

I guess I do like cheesecake, sometimes. It just has to be the RIGHT cheesecake.

Depending on who you take to Colori, I would say one serving of cheesecake was enough for two or three people to share. Maybe four. Maybe one, if you have a big appetite. (We were all being “good,” and we were pretty full before dessert.)

So color me impressed on several levels– atmosphere, food, and my camera worked like a DREAM without flash. The pictures aren’t all 100% perfectly in focus, but it’s good enough for blogging. And I feel a lot less obvious, when I can just take a quick snap sans flash.

Do you guys like Italian?

(Sam sent that to me when he asked if Colori sounded good.)

What’s your favorite Italian place in LA?

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: PITA KITCHEN (Sherman Oaks)

March 16, 2012

Pita for the people.

This post is somewhat about Pita Kitchen, but mostly about– hey, I got an iPhone. (I feel mixed about it… I’m still charging my Blackberry, for some reason.) And I mostly got it for the camera technology, which I’ve been testing out whenever I can. The photo you see above was taken with Pro HDR, which is useful when you’ve got light contrasts– there were major shadows across the food.

Here, I’ll show you (this one’s Camera+):

Chicken shish kabob, extra shadow-y.

I ordered the chicken shish kabob plate, which came with rice and two sides. Hummus was a no-brainer, as was the other one… I think it’s called Middle East salad? And it came with warm, toasty pita! YES.

Sam ordered a wrap with a delicious red meat in it… next time I WOULD order that, but apparently red meat is more killer than we realized. So I’ll probably order the chicken kafta instead… I’ve never heard of kafta being made with chicken, so the intrigue alone is appealing. (I’d probably get a pita or wrap– those are the two different handheld sizes– or share a plate next time… too much chicken for one sitting.) (There’s always leftovers, though.)

Pita Kitchen was better than California Pita, you guys. Don’t trust the wayward Yelpers who may tell you otherwise. It was partly an atmosphere thing… Pita Kitchen has a better vibe. And… more patrons. Always a good sign. (Not to be combined & confused with California Pizza Kitchen.)

Here’s a picture I took with Hipstamatic’s “foodie” lens & film– this taught me that it’s best to take close-ups with this particular setting.

Blurville.

The edges blur, so if you don’t get in there you don’t get much in focus.

Next post I’ll show you some examples of what my new phone camera can do in low light… it’s pretty crazy, what I can capture without any flash. Now I’m not that annoying patron. Well, except that I stood up to take one of the photos. And went to the bathroom like 4 times. (At least I was hydrating.) At the next place. Not at Pita Kitchen. I can still show my face at Pita Kitchen. Which is good, because it’s within walking distance of Sam’s place. And I tend to crave Mediterranean food… it’s filling, yet not heavy.

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: A Tale of Two Aebleskivers (Solvang, CA)

December 30, 2011

Aebleskivers and fruit at The Little Mermaid restaurant.

Happy Holidays! Sam and I spent the last few days driving up and down the California coast (between Los Angeles and Monterey), and one of our last stops was the quirky town of Solvang, CA– it’s supposed to be a little slice of Denmark, but turned out to be a melting pot of Danish, Dutch, Belgian… you know, European places where you expect to find blonde people with charming accents.

Everywhere I go, I like to try whatever food is considered the specialty. In Solvang, it’s the aebleskiver– a spherical pancake. We sampled aebleskivers from not one, but TWO local spots.

First we hit up The Little Mermaid, a restaurant that is more Hans Christian Andersen than Disney. (They heavily feature the famous Danish statue.)

Charmed, I'm sure.

For $6, we got a plate of three aebleskivers, with whipped cream and fresh fruit. We also got a little bowl of raspberry jam, to accompany our dough-balls.

Aebleskiver innards.

I’m not always on board when it comes to raspberry-based foods, but I enjoyed the raspberry jam. (Later I felt a bit ill– maybe from the sweetness– but I got over it in time for the next round.)

After some walking about, we hit up the Solvang Restaurant, where the aebleskivers are so popular that you don’t even have to go inside to order them– you can grab a few at a walk-up window. (And also watch them being cooked in their little pans– cool.)

Solvang Restaurant's aebleskiver operation.

Zoom in…

Now you can see the pans.

Apparently the aebleskivers here are the handiwork of some man named Arne. On the Solvang Restaurant website, you can read his somewhat nonsensical explanation of the aebleskiver. (Sample line: “Aebleskiver are a delicacy, supposedly invented by some Dane back in history.” Really? How specific!)

For $3.40, you get three aebleskivers in a food truck-esque paper container.

Arne's famous aebleskivers. Supposedly invented by some Dane back in history.

I expected aebleskivers to be like donut holes– greasy, sticky, etc. But they were actually light and fluffy. The ones at The Little Mermaid were in some places a bit crisp on the outside, and if this had been a contest they might have won, by a narrow margin.

I liked that one of my Arne’s aebleskivers had a little pocket of air in it.

Excavation.

If you want a sit-down dining experience (and some fruit), The Little Mermaid wasn’t crowded, and had an old-timey charm. (And you can order other food.) If you want your aebleskivers on-the-go, Solvang Restaurant’s take-out window is for you. (Or you can also go inside and sit down. I’m sure they have old-timey charm, too.) (Basically, it’s a toss-up.)

Maybe later I’ll blog about the other specialties I tried on the trip– did you know that Monterey is famous for its sanddabs? (Did you know that sanddabs existed?)

In case I don’t blog again for a few days… Happy New Year! In 2012, I’m going to make my own frozen yogurt! Watch out, world.

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: Rincon Chileno (#SethBuyMeLunch)

November 9, 2011

It has a face!

As you probably know by now, I’m the type of person who will do relatively crazy things in the name of food– especially free food. So when my friend Heather tweeted about blogger Seth Madej‘s #SethBuyMeLunch Twitter-based weekly contest, I threw my hat into the ring. (Heather had gone to lunch with Seth and had returned from the experience seemingly unscathed.)

It took me two weeks to actually WIN the lunch, which made me lucky luncher #7. Seth suggested we check out Rincon Chileno, which turned out to be a stone’s throw away from my old apartment. Little did I know (until I googled it later, as I was labeling my photos) that the churrasco sandwich, recommended to Seth “by a friend,” is one of  Serious Eats’ “Best Cheap Sandwiches in Los Angeles.”

On a side note– I think my Serious Eats cookbook got lost in the mail. (Amazon told me to keep waiting but sent me $7 for my trouble… suddenly this post has a numerical motif.)

Other than the phrase, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” bumping around in my head, I wasn’t nervous about meeting up with Seth. My mother was a bit uneasy that I was so willing to hang out with a stranger from the internet… and then I reminded her that I’m a veteran of Jdates, Craigslist roommates, etc. That (and Heather’s alive-ness) didn’t make her feel any better, but… whatever. Off I went.

Seth and I were both expecting to eat at plastic (or metal, I didn’t consult with him about the material) tables in a deli-like setting, but instead we found ourselves in a “fancy” restaurant setting. Pleasant surprise. (There WAS a take-out deli, next door.) We also expected greasy, fried empanadas– but no! They were baked.

Foreground: spinach and cheese. Background: chicken.

And in another unexpected twist, the chicken in the empanadas was not ground up, but shredded.

Innards.

Yet another surprise– the sandwich came with french fries. I’d eaten fries the night before, and I try to maintain a once-a-week-rule for fries (because of my cholesterol). But… fries in my face? I couldn’t resist. (Oh woe is my willpower.)

French fries... We meet again, my favorite nemesis.

But it also came with salad… so… I’m okay?

While we ate we had a nice conversation and found out that we have been living parallel-ish lives. For more on that, read Seth’s account of the day. (And that’s one of the reasons why I’m posting this before other promised posts… have to keep up with the blogging Joneses.) (I laughed a lot while reading his post because I was relieved that I didn’t seem terrible– and because he’s funny.)

For the record, my mom– relieved that I lived– enjoyed Seth’s post and was impressed by his recollection of minute details. (“Was he taking notes?”) (He was not.) (And– as Seth pointed out– how is he to know that his lunch-winners are not creepers? They are ALSO strangers from the internet.) (We’re ALL just strangers from the internet, until we’re not… deep life moment.)

As far as the churrasco sandwich goes– we didn’t discuss it at the time, but parallel livers that we are, Seth and I seem to concur in our analysis. The sandwich wasn’t greasy, per se (and props for all the mushed-up avocado), but there was something rich about it that made me fill up really fast. Maybe the bread was buttered/oiled? (We got French bread, out of three choices. The waiter recommended it.)

It was a good sandwich, but I’m not going to dream about it. If I went back I’d try others. (Or I’d… go to Porto’s?) (Also a Serious Eats favorite, by the by.)

But hey– I had a good time. I tried a new place. I got to eat avocado AND steak AND empanadas AND french fries. And I wasn’t murdered by a stranger from the internet. All in all, very successful– for a free lunch.

Thanks, Seth! (And if you want to vie for a free lunch, keep an eye on Seth’s Twitter.)

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: APPLE CIDER DONUTS!!! (Atkins Farms– Amherst, MA)

October 28, 2011

At last... at long last.

We woke up at 3am in Los Angeles to make our flight to Philly. The next day, we woke up at 3am in Philly, loaded up our borrowed car, and headed for Amherst– a 5-ish hour drive filled with laughter, strange radio stations, and a little bit of napping (on my part, at least– I’m assuming Sam stayed awake, as he was the driver.)

During the last few minutes, as we wound our way down a country road (okay, actually– that’s what highways are like in rural Massachusetts) toward Atkins Farms, we heard an ad for Atkins on the radio. It was quite a lovely coincidence.

And then– we were there. Sam’s old stomping (/working) grounds. The place we’d been pipe-dreaming about visiting for the past year (since our jaunt to Oak Glen, CA). We really did it.

What is this Macoun of which you speak?

(Full disclosure– we approached from the other direction. I took this picture as we were leaving. Whatever. Go with it.)

(But I really did take this picture coming in.) Have you ever seen a more picturesque parking lot? That tree alone was worth the drive!

We have arrived.

Atkins was a full-on grocery store, but we didn’t do a whole lot of browsing– our mission was clear. We procured a bag of sugared cider donuts and two hot apple ciders, and grabbed a table next to a bunch of old-school Mass guys just shooting the shit (at 9am), complete with the Boston(ish) accents.

Breakfast of champions.

After three sugared cider donuts and some hot cider each, we were AWAKE.

The cider donuts didn’t exactly taste like apple, but they had an essence-of-cider thing going on… they were crumbly and cake-y and amazingly non-greasy. They were very light, for donuts– hence the whole I-ate-three thing. (I could almost fool myself that they were halfway healthy.)

Really, you just have to eat them while looking out upon the changing leaves of Amherst, MA. It’s a whole experience beyond the donut itself.

An autumn wonderland.

And you also have to buy some apples, to offset the donut/cider probable-unhealthiness quotient.

Sam levitates a bag of Macouns for us.

Sam– the resident New Englander– introduced me to the Macoun apple. It’s pronounced Muh-cow-in, which… honestly, I already have some pronunciation issues in my life, and Massachusetts had a few mind-benders on this front. (But they all might be crazy– later Sam told me that crayon is pronounced “cran,” and I will fight to the end that it is pronounced “CRAY-on.”)

In my mind, the Macoun is the “Snow White apple,” because it was so red on the outside and almost unnervingly, blindingly white on the inside. Snow white, rose red. You get it.

I'll get you, my pretty.

I’ve happily noshed on West Coast apples my whole life, but I’ve gotta say– I really miss those Macouns. They just had a different texture than we’re used to out here– not at all gritty. Very smooth.

We bought a bag of half-and-half (sugared and non-sugared) cider donuts for the road (sometimes all that sugar is just… too much– I think we preferred the non-sugared, overall), and those donuts, paired with the apples, made for a great breakfast for the next few days. (And our hotel looked out upon a leafy expanse, so we got to have the “full experience” once again.)

Alternate breakfast of champions. (That's the non-sugared.)

But that wasn’t all we ate during our trip. Ohhh no it wasn’t. No siree. Stay tuned for burgers, beers, and a (traumatizing) lobster.

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: Boston (Mr.) Tea Party

October 13, 2011

One if by land... two if you're not driving.

Last year, Mr. Tea (Sam) and I made the long-ish trek to Redlands to see Lauren (of course!) and to snack on some apple cider donuts. That was about a 3 hour round trip, by car. This weekend, we’re flying from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, stealing a car (legally) and driving 5 hours to Amherst to breakfast on the apple cider donuts (and apples… and cider) of Sam’s wily college years.

So yeah– we’re officially a little bit nutty. (I’ve never seen autumn foliage on the East Coast– so that’s a big part of the agenda, too.)

And as long as we’re in the area, we can’t NOT go to Sam’s hometown of Boston and dine on the best burgers, lobstah, chowdah, Italian food, beer… and whatever else we can find. (Or… fit in our stomachs, as the case may be for me.)

I’m arming myself with a camera, some cash, and a few rolls of TUMS. I’ll report back next week…

xoxo…

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Just In Time for the High Holidays…

October 6, 2011

Kosher bacon yogurt?

Today I went to the local FroYo Life, hoping to find pumpkin on tap. Instead I encountered maple bacon donut. At first I was like, gross! Meat ice cream! And I don’t eat bacon!

And then I read the fine print: Kosher.

So… no meat (can’t mix it with dairy). No bacon. Therefore, I tried it. And… it was pretty much yummy maple flavor. Good times. (Not even sure why they used the word bacon… probably for the novelty.)

Happy high holidays, fellow Jews!

(Oh… and in a little over a week I’ll be eating these donuts!!! Living the dream.)

xoxo…

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Snack Trek: FORAGE (Silver Lake)

September 18, 2011

More than I can eat.

This week my friends and I finally tried out Silver Lake hot spot Forage, at Sunset Junction. It’s sort of an upscale cafeteria– you order the food at the counter and they scoop up a plate for you. Since the food is locally sourced, I expected it to be fresh and healthy. It was fresh, but more decadent than healthy.

I opted for the protein-and-two-sides plate. For my protein, I chose the Crispy Mushroom Ragout sandwich. It was on some sort of flaky, crusty bread that was probably 200% butter, and also had cream on it. Rich city!

What is this, France or something?

Next time I’ll try the Jidori chicken. Actually, I’m dying to try the Coca Cola and soy marinated steak, but there’s a rotating menu and it wasn’t available on the night we went to Forage. So– I’ll try the chicken, if the Coke steak isn’t around.

I’m not a huge mac ‘n cheese person, but it seemed to be one of their specialties. It was good, but definitely a WAY bigger portion than I would have served myself. Luckily Cole was willing to help me do the heavy lifting (eating).

Same food, different view.

My second side was mercifully veggie-based– a Fattoush salad with a zaatar dressing. Or something like that. (Basically– a bunch of veggies in a light dressing.) It cut all the fats of the rest of the meal nicely.

But then… we ordered dessert.

Why? WHY???

The first slice was some sort of chocolate-hazelnut cake. And the second was a maple pear upside cake? Something like that. Bad life choices!

Never trust a pretty cake.

In conclusion, Forage is definitely a sometimes-restaurant. I think if I went there weekly, my heart/stomach/cholesterol would explode. Very unbecoming. But I’ll be back… because sometimes you just can’t stay away from those bad boy… foods.

xoxo…

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